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icerosecrystal · 3 years

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Daminette - How to Fail Being a Parent 101

(3rd Person POV)

Marinette Dupain-Cheng. The girl that went from having everything to nothing. At least, that’s what it felt like right now. She still had Jagged and Penny, supporting her. But her parents threw her out of the house after the believed Lila’s lies. The shiny new thing over their daughter! Her friends also thought of her as a bully. At the age of 17, Marinette had no friends and no family. But little did she know that everything was soon going to change for her.

(Edna Mode’s POV)

Enda Mode was a great designer. But, she wanted, no needed an apprentice to carry her legacy. When Jagged Stone, along with his assistant Penny and Clara, told her of their designer MDC, she was ecstatic. And her designs were beautiful. Yes, MDC had the right amount of talent to be Edna’s apprentice. All she had to was find her.

She was walking to the bakery in Paris, where Jagged said his niece would most likely be. She arrived at the bakery and opened the door walking inside. There were two people inside. She asked them, “Hello, darlings. Do you, by any chance, know where Marinette is?”

She watched as both of the people stiffened, and then the female replied, “No, we used to be her parents, but we no longer consider her a daughter!”

Edna was confused by that. As far as Jagged said, Marinette’s parents had a good relationship with her. So what changed? She then once more asked, “Do you where I might be able to find her, darlings?”

Marinette’s supposed mother grew angry, “Who cares where she is! And if you’re trying to find her. You must be one of the bad influences that Lila was talking about, so get out of our bakery!”

Edna huffed and turned on her heel, walking out of the bakery door. Once she was outside, she pulled out her phone and called Jagged. “Jagged, I tried to go to the bakery, but her parents said that they kicked her out. Or at least they implied it by saying that she was no longer their daughter.”

“What?! That’s so not rock-and-roll! Hmm, well, Marinette did buy a safe house. If I remember correctly, the address is nineteen dauphin bleu. Good luck, and let me know when you find her.”

“Sure sure, darling,” Edna replied before ending the phone call. She quickly went to the address in hopes of finding her.

(Marinette’s POV)

Marinette was not sulking! She swears she isn’t! She’s just sad that her parents didn’t believe her. And hadn’t been doing anything for the past two days other than eating and watching shitty rom-coms… Okay, maybe she was sulking. But could you blame her! Her parents believed a liar over her, plus she had shitty coping skills with Hawkmoth still around. Before Hawkmoth, she would have cried for hours on end while eating strawberry ice cream. Now, she couldn’t do that at risk of an akumatization, and she was Ladybug. Fuck Hawkmoth, fuck Lila, fuck her stupid hormones.

The doorbell then rang. Marinette dragged herself to the door, not stopping to look through the peek hole. She regretted that because once she opened the door, on the other side, she found THE EDNA MODE. Marinette jumped in surprise and started to try and fix her appearance while rambling, “Oh my god, you’re Edna Mode. I’m so sorry! I didn’t know it was going to be you at the door! Otherwise, I would have made myself more presentable! Oh my god, it’s you!!! Most consider you better than Audrey Bourgeois, Style Queen herself. It is such an honor.”

Edna cut off Marinette’s rambling with a hand to her shoulder, “Please, darling, the pleasure all mine. I’m so happy to meet the famous MDC that Jagged, Clara, and Penny have been telling me so much about.” At hearing those words, Marinette looked seconds from passing out.

Edna followed Marinette to the couch and told her, “Now, I went to your parent’s bakery, but they said that they were no longer your parents. So, I want you to tell Auntie Edna everything! Okay?”

Marinette nodded, still in shock. She quickly shook her head to clear her head and then went on to explain about Lila. “There was this girl that came to my school three years ago. She claimed that she had an amazing life. And it would have been believable if all the things that she mentioned weren’t false. For example, she said that Jagged Stone wrote a song for her when she saved his cat from an airport runway. Jagged never had a cat. Civilians aren’t allowed on airport runways. And she’s making Jagged look like a pedophile, she’s underage, and he’s an adult. If she continues claiming this, Jagged could go to jail. There are a lot more unbelievable claims that she makes. Anyways, I knew she was lying, so I tried to disprove her lies. But, she covered it up. I went to the bathroom to cool down. Lila then came inside and confronted me, saying that she would take all my friends away. I didn’t think she would do it, I mean, I had faith in my friends.” Marinette’s voice cracked, and she started sobbing.

Edna waited for Marinette to continue talking. Marinette inhaled sharply and then continued, “My friends believed her over me. They knew me so much longer. But they picked the shinier thing. They bullied me every day, and Lila told them that I was bullying her. She made them beat me up, steal, and destroy my stuff. I thought that my parents would at least support me, but no, the wish of them supporting me was too much to ask. My parents also believed Lila over their daughter. THEIR DAUGHTER!!! They raised me, loved me, and then they believe someone else over me. At first, they started neglecting me, but then Lila came over one day and told them that I had given her death threat. After that, they kicked me out. I didn’t tell anyone not to feel weak. Now, here I am.”

Marinette finished talking and cried, letting loose all of the tears she had been holding in, but she then stopped. Enda looked at Marinette and told her something that shocked the daylights out of her, “Just because your Ladybug, that doesn’t mean you can’t let loose your emotions. If you bag all of it up, you will be at a larger risk of an akumitization. But, if you let your emotions out little by little, you won’t be as subjected to an akumitization.”

Marinette started stammering out excuses, shocked that Edna had figured it out, “O-oh I’m not Ladybug, I-i’m too clumsy to be her. L-ladybug has to be someone a-amazing to do what she d-does.”

Before she could continue, Edna held up her hand, effectively shutting Marinette up. “Marinette, darling, you don’t have to lie to me. Only an idiot would not be able to figure out your Ladybug. You look so much like her. (I did watch the NY special. And they did say that the magic of the miraculous is interfering with finding the identity of the heroes. But let’s pretend that the magic isn’t interfering, and everyone is just clueless. Well, they are clueless, but more clueless if possible.) Anyways, the reason that I was seeking you out in the first place was that I wanted you to be my apprentice. Would you like that?”

Marinette nodded, unable to speak. It was like a dream come true to her. When she rejected Audrey’s offer for an internship, she still had a reason to stay in Paris. Now that she had nothing left, this was the perfect way for her to get a new start, to leave her old life behind. Plus, who in their right mind would turn down being the apprentice of Edna Mode. Not an intern, an apprentice.

Edna clapped her hands together after Marinette gave her consent for being an apprentice. “That’s great, darling. Go pack everything you need. We’re leaving tomorrow at 6:00 AM.”

Marinette nodded, “Where will we be living?”

“Gotham City, New Jersey.”

(Time skip of a year)

(Edna’s POV)

It had been a year since Edna had gone to France to seek out Marinette or MDC. Since then, they moved to Gotham City, and Marinette made a name for herself there. She was an incredibly talented and a hard worker. She worked well under pressure and took criticism well. A lot of times, Marinette’s designs would bypass even her own. It would surprise Edna, but she was proud of her little coccinelle. She wanted to adopt Marinette, but she first wanted Marinette’s approval. For all Edna knew, Marinette wouldn’t want to have a parent figure again after what happened with her parents. Even if Edna didn’t adopt Marinette, she wanted Marinette to be the heir to Mode companies.

Today, Edna was meeting up with Bruce Wayne. He wanted him and his sons to get some suits, so today was the fitting. Marinette was with another client today so, she wouldn’t be meeting them. She heard the doorbell rang. That must be them, she thought. She opened the gates for them to enter the premises. A minute later, they were knocking on the front door. She let them in. When Edna saw them, she huffed at the height of all of the Wayne boys.

She went up to Bruce and beckoned him to bend down. Once he did saw, she greeted him with a kiss to each cheek and exclaimed “, Darling, I’m so glad that could make it. It’s so nice to see you and the rest of your boys.”

Bruce cleared his throat, “It’s nice to see you too, Edna. So, are we just doing measurements today, or are you also going to give us a design for the suits?”

“Ah, Bruce dear,” Edna started, “Art takes time. Plus, my amazing new apprentice will be designing your suits.”

Dick and Jason started laughing. “Look Bruce,” Dick guffawed, “She’s pulling a Bruce.” Tim laughed along with the other two, while Damian looked to be seconds away from smiling.

Bruce sighed, rubbing his forehead, “I’m sorry about them, Edna. You would think that a grown 30-year-old man would have some respect. I swear he has the maturity of a five-year-old.”

Edna waved him off, “Ah, it’s no harm done, Bruce. Dick is also right. I fully plan to adopt my apprentice. I only need her approval before I do so. I mean, she did turn eighteen only recently.”

Bruce looked shocked at this revelation, as did his sons, who were joking, not thinking in the slightest that it could be true. The great Edna Mode had never taken in an apprentice in her life, nor would she ever think of adopting someone. It was so out of character for her. “What happened to the girl that you feel this way,” Bruce asked.

Edna sighed, “Other than being a brilliant designer, who designs could rival my own, my little coccinelle has had a hard life. There was a girl who lied about her. This girl made all of her friends bully and isolate her. The worst part was when my coccinelle’s parents believed the liar over their daughter. They threw her out. When I heard about her designing from Jagged Stone and Clara Nightingale, I went to Paris to seek her out. When I went to her bakery, her parents were rude. I called and asked Jagged where she could be. He gave me her address. When I went there, she was a mess. I offered her the apprenticeship, she accepted. And a year later, here we are.”

The Wayne’s looked shocked at this. They then snapped out of it and, Edna then took their measurement and took note of any extra preferences they might have. She also asked what color they wanted for the suit jacket, shirt, and pants. Edna then asked whether they preferred a bow tie or a necktie. Finally, she asked what color they wanted the lining of their suits to be.

On their way out, Bruce asked Edna, “Would you and your apprentice like to come to the Wayne gala in return for making the suits in such short notice. Oh, and it is in two weeks.” Edna agreed and saw them out. Once they left, she sighed deeply. She then smiled to herself, thinking about Marinette’s reaction to the gala and having to design Wayne’s suits.

(Marinette’s POV)

Marinette was having a mental breakdown. WHY? Because Edna decided that having Marinette design Wayne’s suits was a good idea, as was going to Wayne Gala. So right now, Marinette was having a meltdown. And what was Edna doing? She was watching Marinette become a stuttering mess and trying to figure out how she was going to do something like this.

“Marinette, calm down! Just do your best and, you’ll figure the rest out,” Edna told her.

Marinette nodded and went to her room to start planning the designs and creating them. For almost two weeks, she worked tirelessly on end to complete the designs, and make a dress for herself. And by the day before the gala, Marinette had completed the suits. Alfred came to Edna’s manor to get them for the Waynes.

Once Alfred picked them up, Edna went to Marinette’s room and knocked. Once Marinette said to come in, Edna opened the door and walked in. Marinette looked at Edna, wondering why she was here. But, she then asked a question that Marinette so happy, “My little coccinelle, would you like it if I adopted you?”

Marinette couldn’t answer from happiness. Instead, she jumped on Edna with tears in her eyes and kept on chanting, “Yes, yes, yes!” They both sat like that until Marinette fell asleep, happy that they were now legally going to be family.

On the day of the Wayne gala, Marinette wore a burgundy dress with silver details on the upper part of the dress. She wore silver shoes that had a glass flower on the toes and a silver handbag. Marinette, also matching silver earrings and a necklace. She decided to let her hair loose into beautiful waves.

Edna wore a simple black dress with some white pearl details along with a black handbag with silver and black shoes.

They then left for the Wayne gala. Once they arrived at the Wayne gala, they spotted the Wayne’s wearing Marinette’s amazing designs.

Once the Waynes spotted Edna, they walked over in hopes of meeting her apprentice. Edna saw them coming and Marinette to them. “Boys, this is my apprentice Marinette Mode. Marinette, this is Bruce, Dick, Jason, Tim, and Damian.”

“Wait, so you legally adopted her?” Tim asked.

“Yes, I did, yesterday,” Edna replied.

Marinette smiled brightly at the Waynes and said, “It’s nice to meet you all. I hope that you like the suits that I made.” The Wayne’s gave their gratitude for the suits. They then all dispersed, except for Damian. He was still staring at Marinette, as Marinette was staring at him. They both started talking at the same time,

“Hi, it’s nice-”

“Hey, I rea-”

They both laughed, and Marinette said, “You go first.”

“I was going to tell you how fond I am of this suit. You did an acceptable job.”

“Thank you,” Marinette muttered, “I was going to say that it’s nice to meet you. So tell me about yourself.”

And the pair went on to talking about anything and everything together. Marinette couldn’t keep her eyes off of him. How his beautiful tan skin glistened in the light. How soft his dark, silky hair looked, and his eyes. Oh, his eyes were the best part, a perfect balance between jade and emerald green, giving it a shine, but not making it look toxic. He was so handsome. As she continues talking with him, she realized, she liked him, she wanted him to kiss her, hold her. But they had just met. Little did she know that Damian had similar thoughts running through his head.

(3rd person POV)

Damian thought that Marinette was absolutely beautiful with her silky raven hair. Her pink pouty lips along with her glistening bluebell eyes. Her fair skin was showered with little freckles that made her even prettier. Words could not describe how beautiful she was.

From an outside view, Marinette and Damian were looking like lovesick fools. Laughing, talking, never leaving each other’s side. By the end of the night, they separated with each other’s phone number, and a promise to meet again for a date.

(Time Skip of three months)

(Marinette POV)

It had been three months since the gala. The day after the gala, Damian took her to Gotham park for a nice picnic. On their second date, they went to the rooftop of one of Bruce’s buildings and watched the sunset from there. Their third date was the date where Damian asked Marinette if she would like to be his girlfriend. He took her to an expensive restaurant and after they walked on the pier. There he took out a necklace with a silver chain and “I love you for always and forever” written on it. The pendant was in the shape of a heart. He gave it to her as he asked her to be his girlfriend. She jumped on him kissing him with so much force and passion and then pulled away, breathing out a, “Yes!”

Since then, they had been inseparable. Damian and Marinette told each other everything. Well, almost everything, she still hadn’t told Damian about being Ladybug. And Marinette knew he was also hiding something the way he would get bruises for no reason. She didn’t know what he was hiding until she stumbled across something when she was at the Manor one day.

She had gotten lost again. The Wayne Manor was huge. Marinette knew she was going to get lost, but she always had someone to help her. Marinette then heard some noises. She stumbled towards the noise. The sight that she was met with made her head throb. There in front of her were the occupants of the house. But not as the Wayes. No, they were there as the Bat-Family. The Waynes were the BAT FAMILY! Of course, she would end up falling in love with a vigilante.

Once they caught sight of her, all noises ceased. They didn’t do anything until Damian let out a feeble, “Beloved?”

Marinette turned her attention to Damian, “When were you going to tell me about this? And no, I am not mad. But you should have TOLD me. I shouldn’t have had to find out by myself.”

Damian sighed and told her, “I didn’t want to endanger your life.”

She snorted, “Yeah, like I don’t do that daily.”

“What?!” Everyone screamed at the implications that she was giving.

“Yup, I’m a hero from Paris. Tikki, Spots on!” She then transformed into Ladybug. Once Marinette transformed, she looked at the opened mouth vigilantes. “In Paris, my old partner and I protect the citizens from a guy named Hawkmoth, who preys off of people’s emotions to turn them into his minions, I’ve been fighting him for about four years now. I did send a message to the Justice League, but Green Lantern told me to stop prank calling. I’ve been fighting him by myself for two years because my old partner was harassing me.” She then went on to explain different akumitizations and went more in-depth about her powers.

“Spot off”, she said. She held her hand out and let Tikki sit in it, “This is my kwami Tikki, she is the one who lets me turn into Ladybug.” Everyone, surprisingly, took her reservations well.

By the end, Batman told her, “We would like to help you defeat Hawkmoth. We can start by uncovering who he is. We can do that by taking his voice and running it through some voice scanners until we find a match.” Marinette nodded, happy that they were getting somewhere.

She pulled up a video of Hawkmoth speaking while telling Batman, “By the way, Mom’s going to be here in ten minutes.”

They looked at her, bewildered, “What do you mean?”

She rolled her eyes and handed them her phone with the recording, “What I mean is that she knows that you are the Bat-Family. She figured it out like she figured out my identity.” They all nodded, dumbfounded that someone knew their identity.

Tim or Red Robin ran the voice through the scanners before they found a match. “Gabriel Agreste”, Marinette breathed, “I suspected him before, but he got akumatized. He must have akumatized himself to throw off suspicion.”

That’s when Edna arrived, “Did you figure out Hawkmoth’s identity”, Edna asked. Marinette nodded and pointed to the screen. Edna looked at it and scoffed, “Of course it’s Gabriel. I always knew he was a psychopath!” Marinette started laughing at Edna’s reaction and hugged her. Edna’s face softened, and she stroked Marinette’s hair lightly.

The bat family watched the scene with growing bewilderment. Damian cleared his throat, bringing the attention to him. “As much as I love to see how much my angel’s and Mode’s relationship is growing, we have more pressing matters. How are we going to catch Hawkmoth.”

Marinette thought about it before saying, “A distraction.” She turned to Edna, “Mom, you are going to set up a meeting with Gabriel and distract him. While you’re doing that, we’ll break into the house and go to his hideout. Actually”, she turned to Tim,“ Tim, could you look into the security cameras and see if there is any footage of him disappearing in some way. Or could you get a layout of the house?”

“Done and done,” Tim answered. They watched Gabriel push three specific buttons on Emile’s portrait, which Marinette took note of. They then saw him disappear underneath the ground. Tim pulled the layout of the house up. “This is the layout, based on it, we can conclude that he was going to the room beneath the house.”

Marinette nodded her head, “Okay, this is perfect. Once we sneak in there, we’ll look around, gather some evidence, and then sneak up on Gabriel and take the brooch from him.”

Everyone cheered and then left to do their own thing. Damian stopped Marinette from leaving. He pulled her to him and said in a sexy, gruff voice, “I’m glad that I know every part of you now.” He then dove for her lips, prompting a squeak from Marinette. After a few seconds, she relaxed in the kiss, pulling Damian closer by wrapping her arms around his neck. He put one hand around her waist, and the other one was in her sweet-smelling raven hair. The kiss felt amazing. His warm, soft lips against her luscious, sweet ones. Her lips tasted sweet like sugar, making Damian want to kiss her longer and harder. But, humans need to breathe. They pulled away panting heavily, faces flushed in passion. They stared into each other’s eyes for a little bit before kissing each other once more, this one being chaste rather than hot and heavy. They then let each other go and went to prepare for the demise of Hawkmoth.

The next day, they followed through with the plan. Edna first entered the house and talked loudly to Gabriel, demanding that he bring his son and Natalie to the meeting so that they can all catch up. Once the occupants of the Agreste household were out of the way, Ladybug and the Bats made their way to the picture of Emile. There they pressed the exact buttons and went underneath the house. There they found hundreds of white butterflies along with a horrifying sight. Emilie Agreste being preserved in a coffin and in what looked like to be a coma. Marinette was convinced that she could heal Emilie, went up to the coffin, and set to work. She closed her eyes and put her hands to the outside of the coffin. She then let her power flow through her body until they were at her hands. She then kept her glowing hands to the coffin until she heard a cough. She opened her eyes to find Emilie sitting up, looking around in shock, “Where’s my husband?” she asked, “Where’s Adrien?”

Marinette put her hand to Emile’s shoulder, “We’ll explain everything to you after ma'am. But, we first need to do something.” She walked over to the platform and rose herself to the upper floor, along with everyone else. She then saw Edna, Gabriel, Adrien, and Natalie already there. Everyone positioned themselves and got ready to attack. At the count of three, everyone moved. Marinette grabbed the brooch from Gabriel, Bruce grabbed the peacock brooch from Natalie, and Damian grabbed the ring from Adrien. The Agreste’s and Natalie turned to the heroes in anger, but then froze when they caught sight of Emilie.

Emilie, now understanding that her family must have done something bad, for these people to take away their miraculous, started sobbing. Marinette went up to her and comforted her while telling her everything that she missed. Edna called the police, while the Bat-Family made sure that not of the Agreste’s nor Natalie escaped.

(3rd person POV)

When the police arrived, they were surprised to find that designer Gabriel Agreste, his son, and his assistant were guilty of the terrorism in Paris. They were going to jail. Then, reporters arrived, broadcasting the defeat of Hawkmoth to the world, but then Gabriel said something that made some happy, while it froze the blood in many others, “Lila Rossi was also part of this! She was an accomplice to my schemes! Lila was trying to push Marinette Dupain-Cheng to an akumitization because I realized how powerful of an Akuma Marinette would become. So Lila went to great length to make her suffer, but then she left Paris, and I wasn’t able to akumatize her. If you should be arresting anyone else, it should be Lila Rossi!”

In her house, a liar was growing pale as the authorities banged on her door. When she didn’t open up, they kicked down the door and arrested her. Lila then let out a scream that the whole world would have heard.

When the government saw that two accomplices for Hawkmoth were in the same class from Francios Dupont Highschool, they had to school investigated. They investigated both the principal and Madame Bustier. They found out that both would take bribes and were enablers. They then investigated the students in Madame Bustier’s class. They found that the students were being sued which wasn’t that bad. But, they were being sued for slander, defamation, and more, by not only Edna Mode but also Bruce Wayne. The government looked at security cameras and found many forms of breaking and entering, abuse, bullying, and found many forms of slander online. All of the students along with the teacher and principal were going to have to serve jail time. But, it would be nowhere as long as Lila’s, Adrien’s, Natalie’s, or Gabriel’s jail time.

(Marinette POV)

Marinette was staying in the Grand Hotel when her ex-parents came knocking at her door. They were all smiles, “Marinette, now that we know that we actually raised you right, you can come home with us!”

Marinette just scowled back at them, “As much as I appreciate the offer, you aren’t my guardians anymore. Edna Mode adopted me and I am legally Marinette Mode. Have a good day!” She then slammed the door shut in their faces. She leaned her head against the door and sighed deeply.

She felt a pair of arms wrap around her and kiss her neck gently, “You going to be okay?”

Marinette turned around and smiled at him, “Yeah, I am.”

Five hours later, when Marinette turned on the news, it showed Tom Dupain and Sabine Cheng going to jail. They were charged for child neglecting and abuse. Marinette shook her head, chuckling, knowing that it was Damian who did this. She inhaled deeply, oh well, all’s well that ends well.

(Time Skip of 15 years)

A thirty-three-year-old Marinette put the baby in her hands down in the crib. After everything that happened in Paris, Damian and Marinette had continued dating. Damian proposed on their one-year anniversary and the got married a year later. They now had an 11-year-old daughter named Amira Beth Wayne, a 6-year-old boy Grayson Abbas Wayne, and 1-year-old Sadiya Cathy Wayne. Marinette was now the CEO of Mode Companies, while Damian ran Wayne Enterprises along with Tim as Co-CEOs. As Marinette looked at her children she couldn’t believe that she managed to have such a good life. She felt Damian behind her so she leaned back into him. He kissed the back her head and whispered huskily in her ear, “I love you and I promise that I and the kids will be by your side. Forever and always.”

Marinette snuggled into Damian and squeezed his hand whispering, “Forever and always.”

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no6secretsanta · 2 years

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For @fairysdarkestnight, from @a-still-small-vox - a little parody of The Country Mouse and the City Mouse, which is one of the fables of Aesop. I hope this fits the Nezushi ticket :) The italicised line was the original moral of the story and where the story ended. I added a No. 6 twist after. Happy holidays!

Now you must know that a Mouse of No. 6 once upon a time went on a visit to his best friend (slash crush?!), Nezumi, in West Block. He was rough and ready, this friend, but he loved his city friend – though he would not say it - and made him welcome in his roundabout way. Macbeth Stew was all he had to offer, but he offered it freely. The Mouse of No. 6, Shion, rather turned up his long nose at this country fare, and said: “I cannot understand, Nezumi, how people in West Block can live like this, but of course you cannot expect anything better outside the wall; come you with me and I will take you to my mother’s bakery. When you have been in No. 6 a week you will wonder how you could ever have stood a West Block life.”

No sooner said than done: the two mice set off for the city and arrived at the No. 6 Mouse’s residence late at night. “You will want some refreshment after our long journey,” said the polite No. 6 Mouse, and took his friend into the grand dining-room. There they found the remains of a fine feast left out by the No. 6 Mouse’s mother, and soon the two mice were eating up jellies and cakes and all that was nice.

Suddenly they heard a loud, raucous siren. “What is that?” said Nezumi.

“It is only Security Bureau officials passing by,” answered the other.

“Only!” said the West Block Mouse. “I do not like that music at my dinner.” Just at that moment the door flew open, in came two men in black uniforms, and the two mice had to scamper away and hide under the bed until they had gone out again.

“Good-bye, friend,” said the West Block Mouse

“What! going so soon?” said the other.

“Yes,” he replied; “Better Macbeth Stew in peace than cherry cake and hot chocolate in fear.”

“Wait!” said the No. 6 Mouse. “I agree with you. I took you here only to help you, but you have shown me that this is just as bad a place as West Block to be. West Block may be lean on the body, but No. 6 is lean on the mind.”

He hurried to catch up with Nezumi, who was walking out the door.

“Alright then; I’ve got an idea,” said the West Block Mouse. “Why don’t we tear down this silly wall between No. 6 and West Block? Then we can be lean in both aspects at once.”

“No, it won’t happen like that,” Shion vowed. “We’ll tear down the wall, and then we can eat and be and do whatever we want in complete security. And so can everyone else.”

And so that is what they did.

#a-still-small-vox #vox #voxiferous #fairysdarkestnight #no6 #no.6 #no. 6 #no 6

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boldlyanxious · 3 years

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Detected

Part 6: Aliens are real?

Marijon series

Masterlist

He was outside the school waiting when Marinette got out. He smiled and walked right up to the group exiting the building. Alya laughed at her while she looked down in embarrassment. Everyone was excited to see him back again and ask questions about living in America and having famous journalist parents. He smiled widely and answered all their questions giving anecdotes about his life and how it had been affected him.

"So what brings you back here during your vacation?" Alya asked with a sly smile.

"I wanted to the sights of Paris from the perspective of a Parisian teen," he replied.

Everyone spoke at once offering to go with him and show their favorite spots. He ignored them all watching Marinette.

"I didn't want to miss any of the beauty in the city," he added.

Everyone else went silent, some of them gaping at his obvious flirting, but he didn't pay any attention to them. He reached out his hand for Marinette's. She took his hand and stepped closer, looking into his eyes. He smiled at her and they walked away. He turned and waved to the others then looked right at Alya.

"By the way, my parents loved your superhero blog."

Alya was left sputtering and overwhelmed. But only had they seen it but they liked it enough to mention it after that they enjoyed it. She could live on that praise for years.

---

Jon and Marinette had wandered around Paris for over 2 hours neither one mentioning anything about heroes or villains. They talked about their lives and plans for the future after school. They avoided the near future when they would no longer be in the same city for at least the next couple of years. The conversation stalled as they headed back towards the bakery. It wasn't uncomfortable. It was just quiet. Their hands were swinging gently, never having been separated. But hen he pulled his hand away from hers and used his arm to lay across her shoulders and pull her against him. She froze at first at the change, but then relaxed into him.

"I don't want this night to end," she said. "It feels too perfect."

"I really like being with you."

He stopped walking and turned towards her. His response had been sweet but there was a sudden shift in the tension. He couldn't keep his arm on her shoulder so he took both of her hands. They were walking over the Seine on a footbridge, the other people crossing walked around them and continued on their way. Jon motioned her to move to the side. They sat together holding hands again as they had most of the time but he felt more serious.

"Marinette, I had to tell my parents what I learned about you."

"I guess I'm not surprised. You all came together to look for me."

She pulled her hands back and started to push herself off the ground. He looked sad but didn't try to stop her.

"Wait, please."

"For what? You still need to learn all of my secrets so you can prove I'm evil?"

"I don't think you are evil. My parents don't either. But there is the issue is the security of our base."

"It's that what this has all been about? You got me to relax so you could interrogate me."

"I'm not interrogating but what you did should not be possible without creating an alert."

"For a human," she said pointing at him but her eyes were far away. "You said it was impossible for a human to get in because the key was super heavy."

She paused while he pondered the explanation.

"That was not a pun, I swear."

"Puns are great," he smiled at her reaction. "It is impossible for a human to lift the key. But not for me."

"What are you saying? Are you secretly from another planet?"

"No. I'm not. I was born here and my mother is human. But my dad was born on a planet called Krypton."

"Aliens are real? Your dad is an alien. From another planet. You have a secret base on this planet to take over the world?"

He laughed at her reaction but quickly moved to clearing up the confusion.

"He is a refugee here. He was sent here as a baby when his home planet was destroyed. There is no take over. There is no one left."

"Are there other aliens?"

"Yes. I know Daxamites come from a planet very near Krypton and of course Martians."

"Martians? From Mars. Like the planet right next to this one and no one noticed?"

"It's complicated, but yes, that Mars."

"Are you supposed to be telling me all this?"

"No. But trust goes both ways. We both know identity secrets that we weren't supposed to know. I trust you. But I need to make sure no one else can enter how you did."

"I can't give specific details but hopefully I can ease your fears. How much do you know about the Miraculous magic?"

"Not a whole lot. It's jewelry that gives the owner powers."

"That's enough to understand. Each jewelry has a different power. I have more than one but usually just use the one to become Ladybug."

"So it's one piece of jewelry that can get there?"

"As far as I know. I used teleportation power and asked for solitude. Your base is where I ended up."

"Well it is the Fortress of Solitude. I guess that makes sense."

"I'm fairly certain I can make it so no one can go there again."

"No one but you?"

"I think that could work. Are you inviting me back to your secret base?"

"Definitely."

#marijon week 2021 #marijon #jonette #mlb x dc #boldlyanxious

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spooky-z · 4 years

Text

Bombshell Dupain-Cheng

1.3K

Maribat by @ozmav

Buff!Marinette

To say that they were surprised was to belittle the current situation of Ms. Bustier's class.

And Dupont.

Nobody was prepared for that slap - not literal - in the face that was Marinette Dupain-Cheng.

Look, it's not that Dupain-Cheng was ugly. No! The girl was beautiful. She was in the top five of the most beautiful in Dupont of all at school, kind, sweet and boy, the girl was skilled. In other words: she was a total of '10/10 I would marry'.

So why did everyone stop in shock to see the ‘Dupont Cupcake’ standing on the sidewalk talking to two young man happily? This shouldn't be a shocking scene.

To answer this question, a visit to the past (five months ago) will be necessary.

FLASHBACK

"Good morning, Dupont students." Principal Damocles greeted everyone. The students had been gathered in the auditorium for an important announcement. "I know that many here are confused by this sudden change in routine, but I won't be long on what I have to say."

He looked to the side, probably someone backstage reporting something, and then looked back at the students.

“Well, as many or all of you know, Paris, because of the frequent attacks by Hawkmoth and consequently, his akumas, inserted a bill for all public and government buildings to be renovated in order to provide greater protection to citizens of our city." Damocles watches students and teachers nod positively. “This project has been acting steadily and cautiously for a while, there is a queue and, finally, Dupont's turn has come. What I have to say is that in a month, Dupont will be temporarily closed for renovation and classes will be online.”

The lively buzz of teenagers does not go unnoticed by teachers.

“Classes will be suspended for three months, but you will still be charged to attend classes online. Otherwise it will be the same as missing class.”

END OF FLASHBACK

Now, because of this, many decided to travel since it was possible to attend classes with access to the internet and a computer.

And that was the case with Marinette Dupain-Cheng, who was not spotted on the streets of Paris once after the last day in Dupont.

(This seemed kind of stalking, but many asked about her at the Dupain-Cheng bakery and the parents' response was that she was going to be staying with an aunt somewhere in the Pacific.)

She didn't even show up on the first day back to school, no one in her class knowing about her whereabouts.

Until that moment.

Then back to the shock; the case is, when the bell rang and everyone ran off to go home, the blessed image of Marinette Dupain-Cheng in sports attire greeted them.

It is as it was said before: it is not that the old Marinette was ugly, but that the current one was a complete bombshell.

She did not seem to notice the attention she was receiving, both from the students and from the people who passed by her and her friends(?) on the sidewalk.

Wearing a black sports bra with pink asymmetrical details, a black legging with a thick pink line on the sides and simple black running shoes.

A small bottle of water with a ladybug theme in hand completed the look.

Now, it’s not like they’ve never seen her wearing gym clothes or showing skin outside her legs and arms. No. The problem was the muscles, the tanned skin, long hair in a sloppy braid and the sudden growth spurt.

Marinette Dupain-Cheng disappeared three months ago, only to come back 6'1 with thick legs (that legging seemed to suffer), outlined belly (was that a 6 pack?!) and strong biceps.

And even though she was no longer that delicate little girl, her beauty only tripled with these changes. Dupont would not know how to deal with this new reality.

"MARI!"

"NETTE!"

Two figures ran past the students, throwing themselves at Dupain-Cheng, who did not seem at all bothered by the impact of having to hold two people in her arms. Without letting the bottle fall to the floor.

"We missed you!" Chloe Bourgeois whimpered shrilly; her head hidden in the brunette's neck.

Marinette laughed happily, her right forearm supporting the blonde girl to remain clinging like a koala. "You saw me yesterday, Quennie!"

"But I didn't and you didn't even come to class today!" Alix Kubdel snorted; her position was Bourgeois' mirror on Dupain-Cheng’s left arm. "I had to put up with your fan club asking every minute about you."

Dupain-Cheng had to lift her chin in order to kiss the girl's cheek tenderly. "I know. I'm sorry, Al, but I had a horrible jet lag. Lu and Dames had to get me out of bed or I would sleep 24 hours.”

Alix pouted, but the flushed cheeks showed that she was not displeased.

"It is good to know that I am also important." Luka coughed and Chloe, still keeping her face on Marinette's neck, showed her middle finger. “Wow, do you see Dames?! We woke up Mari to pick them up from school and what did we receive as a thank you? Only disgust.”

Damian covered his mouth so that no one could see the smile. “That's what I say, let's kidnap Minette and flee to a lost island in the middle of the Atlantic. The perfect life."

"And we hunt you down to the end of the world." Alix warns, making Luka laugh. "You can let me down, Nette." She murmurs, adjusting her clothes when Marinette puts her back down.

Chloe with no signs of going down in the near future. "She slept." Marinette explained when she noticed Alix's eyes.

"Chloe came to class thinking that you would come, but spent the classes trying not to sleep." Alix strokes the bare skin of the blonde's leg. "You guys arrived very late and she only got a couple of hours of sleep."

Damian takes the bottle of water from Marinette's hand, giving her the opportunity to hold Chloe more comfortably.

"I told her to rest, but she is stubborn." The brunette sighed. "Even Kagami didn't come to class today." Marinette takes the lead in heading home, the other three following without hesitation.

Alix makes a sound of agreement, attention returning to the two boys. The malicious look shining.

“Hey, guys. How are you feeling now that your girlfriend is practically your height and can bench press the two of you together without sweating?” She twitches her eyebrows with a smile. “Have you been feeling too much heat? Thirst?"

Damian looks away, his expression blank. Luka, on the other hand, had two shades of red covering his neck and ears.

“Oh? I see." Alix teases. "You will have to fight Chloe for those muscles."

"Why would we have to fight your girlfriend for our girlfriend?" Damian raised an inquiring eyebrow.

"Because it's Marinette." Alix replies.

"You're right." Luka agrees as if that answers everything.

"And I'm going to pretend I'm not listening to this awkward conversation." Marinette comments.

They continue to talk and play, Marinette never once looking bothered by Chloe's dead weight as she walks. The group left Dupont without realizing the mental state they left behind.

That Marinette left behind.

Ms. Bustier's class, like the other students at Dupont, was frozen on the school stairs, unable to believe what their eyes were watching.

One person in particular felt particularly... hot.

'I didn't know that Marinette was so strong.' Adrien thought, unable to take his eyes off his friend.

He didn't even notice the appreciative sigh that escaped.

#lukadaminette #daminette #lukanette #luka x damian #alix x chloe #maribat #miraculous ladybug #mlb #bombshell au

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heauxplesslydevoted · 3 years

Note

Hello, hello! This week, we are going on a little:

Home Tour!

Notes: Answer the following with pictures (dialogue from your characters is optional!). Collages are highly encouraged if you want to answer a question with multiple pictures because tumblr mobile only allows 10 total pics. Otherwise, tumblr on a desktop lets you add multiple pictures (non-beta)!

For both:

What does the outside of the home look like? (Front/back yard, garden, pool, etc)

Living room and home office (if any)?

Kitchen and dining room?

Bedrooms? (Master, guest, others)

Other rooms?

Do you own your dream home? If not, what does that dream home look like?

What is your favorite room to spend time in with each other?

Catch Up Here

Set a year into their marriage, and Naomi is heavily pregnant with the best character I’ve ever conceptualized, Queen Valentina

~v~

House Exterior

Naomi: Ethan still has the condo in Back Bay-

Ethan: We still have it. What’s mine is yours.

Naomi: We still have the condo in Back Bay, but I didn’t want to be married and settling down in a twenty-story high rise, so we moved to Newton, which is only 15 minutes away from Boston.

Living Room

Naomi: The black marble was a real selling point for me. The Hermès throw blanket was a housewarming gift from my mother.

Ethan: I still think it is...excessive that she bought us a $2000 blanket.

Naomi: My parents are rich and my mother is dramatic. You just have to roll with it.

Home Office

Ethan: Our home office is completely decorative at this point. We don’t use it often.

Naomi: We spend so much time at the hospital that we try not to be bring work home. This place is our sanctuary.

Kitchen & Dining Room

Bedrooms:

Naomi: We knocked a few feet off the bedroom next to ours in order to build another closet. I refused to do shared closet space.

Nursery:

Naomi: Even though the rest of our house is literally black and white, I wanted the nursery to be warm. It’s becoming my favorite room in the house. And at our baby shower, I asked all of the guests to buy a book, so baby girl Ramsey already has an extensive reading collection.

Other Rooms:

Naomi: We have a full bar and wine pantry in the basement. Our house is the party house.

Ethan: Much to my dismay.

Naomi: I’m the first one in the friend group to be a homeowner. We’re the official party house. Those are the rules, baby.

Do you own your dream home? If not, what does that dream home look like?

Naomi: This is absolutely my dream home! Ethan and I put a lot of time and effort into making a space that we both love and want to be. This is our forever home, where we’re going to raise our family and grow old and gray. The only thing we’re missing is a pool, but we are going to get one built within the next 6 months.

Ethan: My dream home is wherever my wife is.

Naomi: Stop it, why would you say it? You’re going to make me cry. All I do is cry these days.

Ethan: It’s the truth. I’ll always be...fond of the condo in Back Bay, but it wasn’t a real home. It was just a place where I slept in between shifts. But this place, the place we bought together, where we came to after our honeymoon, the place we’ll be bringing our daughter to in a few months, this is home.

What is your favorite room to spend time in with each other?

Naomi: Definitely the kitchen. He likes to cook, and I like to eat. He’s been spoiling me during this pregnancy, cooking whatever ridiculous thing I’m craving.

Ethan: We’ll probably end up there as soon as we’re done with these questions.

Naomi: Absolutely.

Ethan: And what is the baby craving right now?

Naomi: Homemade bolognese. And cheesecake from that bakery in the city.

Ethan: Well, I guess I have some shopping to do.

#ethan ramsey #Ethan x MC #newlyweds game with your host bree

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nettles-bo-bettles · 3 years

Text

Marinette Dupain-Cheng and her Secretive Life

Third Person POV:

Marinette Dupain-Cheng is a girl who has had a very secretive life. It all started when she was four years old. When she was four, an assassination team came to her home and tried to kill her. They failed but she had to leave her home to stay safe. After leaving her home she was sent to Paris with two guards who were married and wanted a child. After getting to Paris she had to keep a secret to keep herself safe from assassins, that was the only secret she ever had until she went to school. Once she got to the age where she could go to school her guardians told her she and her best friend Chloe must act like they hate each other. The girls agreed on Chloe pretending to be a mean girl and her bullying Marinette. Years later once Marinette was 14, she got yet another secret to uphold. That secret was being Ladybug, although she made sure to tell Chloe for Chloe was her only friend who knew about all of Marinette's secrets. A day later Chloe's childhood friend Adrien Agreste came to school, Marinette already had a crush on a boy named Damian but he lived in Gotham City and he wasn't capable of protecting her. Once Adrien came to school, Marinette's Guardians, Tom and Sabine, told her she must pretend to have a crush on the boy. In order to make Marinette and Chloe's false hatred for each other more believable, Chloe pretended to have a crush on the boy as well. These are only a few of Marinette's secrets, but these few and all of the others get revealed because of one small trip back to Marinette's home.

Marinette's POV:

I woke up at 5:00 am again and like always I couldn't go back to sleep. I got up and took a shower. After my shower I put on a white crop top, some leggings and my black doc martens.

My outfit:

I put my hair in a high ponytail and went downstairs to get some breakfast. By the time I was done with my breakfast and all the way ready for school it was 6:00 am. I decided that because I still had two and a half hours before I had to start heading to school and be late I should go for a walk and hang out with Chloe until I had to go. Now I know what you're thinking, me Marinette Dupain-Cheng hanging out with Chloe Bourgeois??? Well despite what everyone thinks and what we've made them think. Me and Chloe have known each other since birth and have been best friends for as long as we can remember. Anyways so once I walked from the bakery to Chloe's hotel I took out my phone and texted her.

Maribug:

-Hey do you want to hang out before school? I have nothing to do for the next two hours.

Queenie:

Sure, I have nothing to do either. Plus I miss hanging out with you. Meet me outside my hotel in- five minutes.

Maribug:

-Lol, way ahead of you already. I got to your hotel before I even started texting you.

Queenie:

Damn, how are you always ahead of me?-

Maribug:

-I'm always ahead of you because I've known you my whole life and you're really predictable.

Queenie:

Oh, oh okay.-

Imma meet you outside now then.-

Maribug has signed off.

Two minutes later Chloe walked out of the hotel and we started heading towards the park.

"I miss hanging out with you, like Sabrina is just boring and she does everything I say even if I mostly don't want her to."

"Damn Queenie, I mean I bet Sabrina would be a lot more fun if you just asked her not to do anything you said and told her the truth. I mean I'm fine with her knowing about the fact that we've known each other our whole lives."

"Oh you know what, that's a really good idea Imma do that later. Thanks for the idea Maribug."

"I always have the best ideas and you know it."

"Alright that's true."

We got to the park and sat down on a bench near the fountain. We started talking about everything going on in our personal lives. Eventually it was 8:00 and Chloe had to go so she started walking to school while I started taking the long way so that I would get there at 8:30 while she would get there at 8:15 and school started at 8:20 so nobody would be suspicious.

Adrien's POV: I woke up at 6:00 and decided to go walk around and go to the park. I was wearing a black hoodie, white ripped jeans, and all black Nike Blazers. I walked to the park and was shocked with what I saw. I saw Chloe and Marinette sitting on a bench, talking, and LAUGHING!!!!!!!! I thought Chloe and Marinette hated each other. I then decided to just ask them about it at school during lunch. Eventually it was 8:00 so I started going to school and I saw Chloe there already but Marinette was nowhere to be seen. I walked to class and for some reason Marinette was late.

"Sorry I'm late Ms.Bustier I overslept again." Marinette said, looking at Ms.Bustier with an apologetic face.

But she didn't oversleep, I SAW HER AT THE PARK AT SIX IN THE MORNING!!!!!!!!!! THAT IS NOT OVERSLEEPING!!!!!!!!!!!!! Eventually it was lunch time and I asked Chloe to wait in the classroom and did the same with Marinette.

"So why did you want to talk to me?" They asked at the same time.

Then they looked at the other and had thoughtful looks on their faces.

"Well, I thought you two hated each other." I said looking at the both of them.

"What do you mean you 'thought'??? We do hate each other. Chloe's a snobby spoiled brat." Marinette said.

"Yeah I hate Marinette, she's such a goody two shoes." Chloe said.

"I hate you Chloe, I hate you so much." Marinette said, now turning to Chloe.

Chloe just burst out laughing.

"Wha- Chloe, why are you laughing???" Marinette asked.

"Just- I- he figured it out, I don't see the point in keeping this from him."

"Keeping what exactly from me?" I asked.

"Well Adrien, you oblivious cinnamon roll, me and Chloe have been friends, well best friends since we were toddlers. Like I cannot remember a time that I wasn't friends with Chloe." "Exactly, what Maribug said. We've been friends for longer than we can remember and, I've actually known Maribug longer than I've known you Adrien." Chloe said to me.

"Wait- did you just call me Adrien instead of Adrikins??? Does this mean you don't actually like me??" I asked with hope.

"Well duh, you're like a brother to me jeez." Chloe said kind of disgusted.

"Oh yeah, I don't have a crush on you either, I just pretended I did even though you never caught on. That was to make me and Chloe hating each other more believable." Marinette said.

"Wait- both of you had fake crushes one me???" I said kind of shocked.

"Hell yeah." They said simultaneously.

"But Maribug guess what." Chloe said to Marinette.

"Yeah Queenie???" Marinette asked.

"YOU HAVE TO GO OUT WITH DEMON SPAWN NOWWWWWW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Chloe shouted.

"FUCK NO!!!!!!!!! HE DOESN'T LIKE ME BACK!!!!!! I AM NOT GOING OUT WITH DAMIAN WHEN HE DOESN'T LIKE ME BACK!!!!!!" Marinette shouted.

"Bish- you're the only fucking person on earth who he doesn't find incredibley annoying, like his nickname for you IS FUCKING 'ANGEL'!!!!!!!!!!! HOW THE HELL DO YOU NOT THINK HE LIKES YOU?!?!?!" Chloe yelled.

"I have no idea." Marinette said honestly.

"Uhhhh I feel like I don't really belong in this conversation........so I'm just gonna leave now." I said a little bit uncomfortable.

"Oh- heh, forgot you were here. Sorry Adrien." They said simultaneously.

"Yeah, okay I'm leaving then. Bye." I said walking out the door.

Marinette's POV:

Damn, I did not realize that Adrien had seen me and Chloe hanging out. Well guess that's another person to know about me and Chloe not hating each other but actually being best friends. After lunch we all came back to the classroom for an important announcement.

"Alright class I have an announcement to make." Ms.Bustier said.

Hmmmm wonder what the announcement could be.......OH I BET IT'S THAT SHE GOT PREGGO AND GONNA HAVE A BABY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

"Okay class so the announcement is that we will be going to China for the princess's coronation and then afterwards we will be going to Gotham city to meet her honorary family and her soon to be fiance."

Nope, I was very very wrong.

"Damn, I thought you was gonna say you got preggo earlier this week and that in 9 months you were gonna have a baby. Now I'm a little disappointed." I said.

The whole class just looked at me like I was crazy, I mean I could be considering the fact that I said I was disappointed that it was the coronation instead of Ms.Bustier being preggo but like me and Chloe have been friends since birth because she was born on her parents' honey-moon and they had it in china so she was born at the royal hospital and I was born there too because I'm the princess of China and my mom and dad are the Empress and Emperor. What did you expect after knowing that I moved here because of an assasination attempt, like really why would anyone be surprised??? That's how all the "Marinette Princess of China'' stories start, I mean honestly, if you're surprised then I am sorely disappointed in you.

"Girl- we get to go to a coronation and you're disappointed???" Alya said while looking at me like I'm insane.

Adrien just looked at me like I had more secrets to hide, which I do.

"You know what I'll just explain to you all after school, and don't be surprised if Chloe's there too." I said.

"Uh- okay then." Alya said.

"Alright dudette." Nino said, not really paying attention.

"Why am I not surprised that Chloe's gonna be there too." Adrien said rhetorically.

After school Alya, Nino and Adrien came to my house so that I could explain.

"Wait- girl, why is Chloe here?" Alya asked.

"Cause she felt like it." I said.

"And you just let her in your house?" Alya asked.

"Yeah, it'll make sense once I explain." I said to her.

"Mariiiiiiii I wanna see Tim." Chloe whined.

"Chlo- you're gonna see him in China, AND WE'RE LEAVING TO GO THERE TOMORROW!!!! JUST WAIT JEEZ!!!!!!!!!!"

"BUT THAT'S TOO LONG!!!!!!!!! I DON'T WANNA WAIT UNTIL TOMORROW TO SEE mAH BOYFRIEND!!!!!!!!!!! BESIDES DON'T YOU WANNA SEE DAMIAN AS SOON AS POSSIBLE TOO?!?!" Chloe yelled.

"Yeah, I wanna see Damian as soon as possible BUT AT LEAST I CAN WAIT 24 HOURS!!!!!!!!!!!" I said.

Eventually we stopped yelling at each other and I explained everything.

"Okay so the whole thing is that I'm the princess of china, I left china when I was four because of assasination attempts, Tom and Sabine are royal guards, me and Chloe have been best friends for as long as we can remember and I've known her longer than even Adrien has. Damian and Tim are the guys we like, but I'm being forced to marry Damian even if neither of us mind it that much, Tim is a year older than us and Chloe's boyfriend, Tim and Damian are brothers and are both from Gotham City. Me and Chloe act like we hate each other to make people less suspicious of me being the princess because the assassins know that Chloe is my best friend. Oh and neither of us have ever liked Adrien romantically, he's more like a brother to both of us." I said.

They just looked at me awestruck, well except Chloe of course, she just pouted because she can't see coffee monster. Oops did I say Coffee Monster? I meant Tim. Eventually Alya, Nino and Adrien snapped out of their awestruck state and started asking questions.

"Why didn't you tell us?" Alya asked, looking hurt.

"I wasn't allowed to until today, I asked Tom and Sabine if I could multiple times but they said no every time until yesterday after school, I asked them even though I didn't know about the trip yet but I think they did." I said to her.

"You know, dudette it's pretty cool that you're a princess. WAIT- DO WE GET TO SEE YOUR PALACE OR CASTLE THING?!?!"

"Yes Nino, you'll get to see the palace." I said to him.

"YESSSSSSSS! THIS IS SO AWESOME DUDETTE!!!!!!!!!!" Nino shouted.

We all just started talking and Alya and Nino became friends with Chloe, the real Chloe. After a while everyone went home to pack for China, I had already packed the small amount of stuff I would need because I already have a lot of clothes and things in China. Once it was 11:00 I changed into my pajamas and went to bed.

My Pajamas:

I went to bed happy and excited for tomorrow.

Page Count: 8

Word Count: 2397

#letttuce #I hate this story but I'm posting it anyway #I forgot if this was daminette or timari #maribat #nevermind it's daminette

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treasure-hwa · 3 years

Text

sparkling wine and cake

pairing: seonghwa x g.neutral reader

genre: fluff

synopsis: Seonghwa could not ask for a better way of spending new year's eve.

word count: 1755

author's note: is it good, you ask me. It's better than nothing, I answer. I should have posted it on January 1st, but I didn't, so enjoy it now, 14 days into the new year.

Winter felt way colder and sadder when there was not a cozy place full of cheerful people to spend new year’s eve. The place Seonghwa lived in felt emotionless and chilly, even though the heater was on.

He focused on baking the chocolate cake he decided to bake just so he could distract himself from the sting burning on his chest. Not being able to spend new year’s eve with his family was painful and the man cursed his boss for demanding, in the last minute, he worked on December 30th and the afternoon of the first day of the year. Seonghwa had booked a flight to his hometown, but, due to work, he had to call it off, and booking a flight on new year's eve was impossible.

His friends were also already busy, and Seonghwa didn't want to bother them, so, that night, it would be only him, the chocolate cake and maybe a glass of sparkling wine toasted with the wind the moment the clock hit 00:00.

It's how it's gonna be, he thought to himself while cleaning the kitchen's counter, it will be fine, I can video call my parents later. But when you least expect, things happen, don't they?

Around 10:30pm, the doorbell rang, and Seonghwa, without hurry, went to the door, getting a big surprise when he opened it.

— Hey, happy new year.

— Y/N?

— I know, it's not 2021 yet, but whatever. Can I come in? I brought some… snacks. — You showed him a convenience store white plastic bag you had on your hand.

— Sure, come in. What did you bring? — You shared a quick hug before the boy took the bag from you, taking it to the kitchen.

You left your shoes and coat, full of little white dots of snow, on the specific places and came into the house, sighing when the warm air welcomed you.

— Sparkling wine, Pringles and chocolate. — You sat on the couch, stretching your legs and your red and green striped sock clad feet.

— Nice. Why are you here? Not trying to be rude, of course — He hurried to correct himself in case you misunderstood him.

— I came here to spend new year's eve with you, Hwa, obviously.

— But why? What about your family? — the man questioned, putting the sparkling wine bottle on the refrigerator and taking out the one he already had, pouring the golden liquid on two glasses.

— Split up. My sister is with her boyfriend, my brother with his friends and mom and dad are with their respective new partners.

— I am sorry, I guess. — Seonghwa came to the living room, sat beside you and handed you the glass, pouting and touching your arm gently with his free hand.

— It's okay. — You smiled and, even though it was kind of a broken one, you seemed content enough, more content when you sipped on the sparkling wine. — At least we are together.

He smiled with the ending words, finally realizing he would start 2021 near someone really important to him.

You and the man met on the train station two years ago. The place was crowded and both were moving to the big city because of great job offers, something they couldn't find in their respective hometowns. Everybody was waiting for cabs and, when one stopped in front of you and you opened the car's door, you saw a breathless guy running towards you.

"Please, let me take this one. I am already so late to meet my new landlord."

"Well, me too, but… we can share the cab, what do you think? I go first, then you go."

He agreed, thanked your gentleness and got into the cab, rearranging his luggage on the available space. Two days later, you met at the local bakery and discovered you lived next to each other. The rest was story.

— Is there cake? Your house smells like cake.

— Yep, I’m just waiting for it to cold down.

A moment of silence.

— What are your plans?

— Watching a movie, eating cake and drinking sparkling wine during the whole night, maybe getting a little drunk. — He shrugged his shoulders. — Sounds good or do you want to do anything else?

— Anything sounds good with you, Hwa.

Maybe Seonghwa had melted and his heart lost a beat. If he was totally honest, he would say he has a crush on you, and what had just been said wasn't exactly healthy for his situation.

Giving a shy smile, he turned the TV on and handed you the remote control to choose something worthy enough of watching during that time of the year. A Christmas themed romcom was just starting, so you decided on watching it, focusing completely. Or it seemed like you were: the man was trying so hard not to wrap his arm around you, who wanted to lay your head on his shoulder so bad.

And why don’t they just do it? Because they do not know the other reciprocates their feelings. Dumb? Yes. What if they get rejected and lose the other’s friendship? It is a no no.

You felt like you were building the courage to rest your body on him, but he got up in the wrong moment, asking if you wanted cake, talking about all the process he went to make it. Externally, you smiled and said “sure”. Mentally, you cursed.

When he came back to the living room, his hands were full with two plates of chocolate cake and a bottle of sparkling wine. After helping him, you were again seated beside each other, trying to fill your minds with something other than the warmth the other was giving away, which was proved incredibly hard for him, since he could not not pay attention on her giggles every time the main couple on the TV did something cute, she kept biting her lips to fight the urge to smile wide, and he did the same because she was so cute while watching romance things — there was a reason why he never got tired of watching k-dramas along with her.

— Hwa… Hwa! — he got out of his own in-love trance after hearing the cause of it calling him. — It’s almost midnight already!

— Is it? What time is it?

— Three minutes to midnight. Come with me.

— What? Where?

You smiled and took his hands. It was now or never. I don’t care if he rejects me, I need him to know my feelings, it’s my new year resolution. You opened the glass door that gave way to the balcony and pushed Seonghwa gently on the side grid.

— Y/N, what are you doing?

— Just wait, okay?

He nodded, hugging you and rubbing your back when he saw you shivering because of the cold. Maybe skinship was not that strong on your relationship, however both of you were okay with it, you kind of wished it would happen often, so every time you touched hands or shared a hug felt like you had ascended to heaven. Your heart felt lighter and you could not help your big smile.

— Too cold? — Seonghwa questioned in a low voice, still rubbing your back with his delicate, big hands. — Should we go back inside.

— A little, but no. I have something to say.

From the TV inside the apartment, you heard a commercial initiating the countdown.

“10, 9, 8…”

You took the man’s hands, holding and caressing them like they were made of crystal. He smiled, not thinking too much of it, just appreciating the physical contact his crush was giving him.

Now or never. Now or never. Now or never!

— I like you, Hwa! Please, accept my feelings.

“7, 6, 5…”

He said nothing, too shocked to form words. Nevertheless, you kept going:

— I’m going to kiss you now. You can push me away if you want.

“4, 3…”

— Would never dare. — He breathed out the three words and cupped your face.

“2, 1… Happy new year!”

You took a step forward, gently tugging on his neck so your lips could meet in the most desired kiss in the past months. Your lips fit his plump and pinkish ones perfectly, as it was meant to be. His mouth tasted sweet, both from the cake and the sparkling wine. His hands held your face fearing it was a dream. Fireworks exploded in the sky, as it did in your stomachs.

However, you broke the kiss to hide your face on Seonghwa’s shoulder, and not knowing what happened, he hugged and asked loud enough to be heard:

— What’s wrong? Did I do something you didn’t like?

— I don’t like fireworks. Too loud!

Without wasting more time, he took you back inside and closed the balcony door. Leaving you on the couch, Seonghwa went to the kitchen and got the other bottle of sparkling wine, opening it without making a mess, and the Pringles and chocolate you had brought. He put those things on top of the center table and filled your glasses, proposing a toast in the name of the new year.

— It brought me love already, so I just want peace, health and success for the world.

— Cheers! — You lifted your glass happily, but got scared by another loud firework.

Chuckling, he sat beside you and finally cuddled your body on his.

— No need to be scared, I’m here to protect you now.

— My hero — you joked, sipping your gold alcoholic drink to hide your nervousness. He kissed me because he likes me too, right? He said he would never dare to push me away, so it is reciprocated, right?

Interrupting your thoughts, Seonghwa pecked your lips, cupping your face and pulling away before you could even notice.

— I didn’t say it outside, but I like you too, and if you want the first change of the year… I can be it for you.

Was it really happening?

— Pinch me first. — Giggling, he pinched and kissed your cheek. — Definitely real. I want it.

— Happy new year, Hwa.

— Happy new year, dear.

And this was how they spent the night: drinking sparkling wine and mixing Pringles, chocolate and cake, stealing quick shy salty and sweet pecks from each other. Finally, two lonely hearts met and began to beat in sync.

- [happy new year] -

#kpop imagines #ateez imagines #ateez fluff #ateez scenarios #seonghwa fluff #seonghwa fanfic #ateez x reader #seonghwa x reader #hongjoong #yeosang #yunho #mingi #san #wooyoung #jongho

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i-am-a-mes · 4 years

Text

Blueberry Chapter 3

Summary: Y/N is fresh out of college with a small job at a newspaper, when she meets Chris Evans. They start a Sugar Daddy/Sugar baby relationship and try to navigate through their feelings, desires and personal obstacles.

Parring: AU Chris Evans x female plus size reader

Warning: Anxiety, panic attack, angst (sorry, have to for plot reasons ;))

A/N: Hi there. So this is my first Chris Evans fic. It’s still a WIP and don’t really have that much of a plan with it. It will be a fluffy, angsty, smutty adventure spiced with some Sugar Daddy, Ddlg and D/s elements. But don’t expect that from the get go though. It’s a slow burn in some elements. I hope you enjoy it and feel free to leave a comment and share!

My Masterlist

Series Masterlist

Chapter Three:

The door opened and revealed Chris standing by a sleek deep grey car. You know one of those cars you see in spy movies that you don’t believe exist. But my attention was quickly drawn from the vehicle to the man in front of it.

He was wearing a deep blue suit that fit so well that you would think he was born wearing it. His white button-down was tieless and the first few buttons open. As he adjusted his cufflinks he looked up at me.

I just stood still and didn’t quite know what to do with myself, so I just kinda stood there taking in this out-of-this world human specimen.

“Y/N! I thought you had bailed on me.” He came up to me and placed a small kiss on my cheek which made my applied blush disappear under the new red one I was sporting

“Uhm.. sorry.. I had to get down from the 5th floor” I looked up at him and blinked a few times.

“Slow elevator?” He asked with a cocked eyebrow.

“Slow legs.. No elevator” I said with a shrug.

“Wauw okay then. Are you ready?”

He placed his hand behind my back and looked at me with that ever so charming smile.

“As I’ll ever be”

He threw his head back in laughter and we made our way to the car. He opened the door for me and with a beat in his step he got around to the driver’s side and soon we were off.

The drive was mostly silent besides the low rumble of the engine and soft music playing on the radio.

“So, have you lived here long?” He asked as we drove through my part of town, the poor and rundown side of town.

“Well I moved here about 6 months ago, so yes and no” I stole a glance at him as I answered.

“And by that you mean…?” He had a smile in his voice as he asked the question.

“By normal standards 6 months are not that long, but by climbing 5 flights of stairs every day and dealing with my roommate it sure feels like an eternity”

“A lot to handle maybe?” He asked genuinely with a quick glance my way.

“Yeah, to say the least” I looked defeated out the window as we drove nearer the center of the city.

Girl! Get out of your head. Ask him a question.

“Ahem.. “ I cleared my throat and some of my mind “How about you? Lived in the city for a long time?”

“You can say that. Born and raised in a town called Sudbury outside here of Boston. But I’ve lived here in the city on/off for about 10 years.”

“Oh okay” I nodded and began fiddling with my hands in my lap.

Another silent moment came over the car and before I knew it he was slowing down, and pulled up to a very fancy looking restaurant equipped with a red carpet in front of what looked like valet parking. He parked right in front of the place and quickly came over to my side to help me out of the car, and then tossed the keys to the valet guy.

I felt his hand on the low of my back as he guided me inside. My nerves were all over the place and my mind kept bringing up the fact I had never in my life been anywhere that was this fancy or expensive.

“Take a breath sweetheart. I can feel your nerves running through you” he leaned down and whispered. I looked up at him to see his million dollar smile, which calmed me while also wounding me up more.

He gave his name to the hostess who never glanced in my direction and we followed her to a secluded corner with a rounded bench seat and a round table. He guided me in and thanked the hostess who just battered her eyelashes at him and giggled before leaving us.

I slowly pulled off my jacket, and as I did Chris stopped his motion to sit down beside me.

“Wow!”

“What?” I looked at him like I did something wrong.

“Nothing.. You just look great. Phew!” He smirked and shook his head as he placed himself besides me.

Soon two menus were in our hands and we were trying to decide what to get. I scanned the pages, not understanding much of what it said, only that everything was really… I mean REALLY expensive.

Fuck! Maybe if I just get a starter as the main course and then some water. Yeah that should be durable. I got that 25 dollars I pulled from my in-case-of-emergency-piggy-bank

I gnawed on my thumb as I stared wide eyed at the options, and before I knew it the waiter was ready to take our orders.

“So what can I get you tonight?” He asked with a perfectly customer friendly voice.

“Ahem.. “I squirmed in my seat “I--I’ll have the tomato salad… and a glass of water. Thank you” I glanced up at the waiter.

“And for the main course Ma’am?”

“Just that please…” I swallowed as my face began heating up.

Chris studied me with intense eyes and then looked at the waiter.

“Will you excuse us for a moment?”

“Of course sir!” He turned and left us alone again.

Chris put down the menus and turned his body so he could get a better look at me.

“Hey Y/N...Are you okay?”

I dared taking a peek at him before letting out a big sigh.

“Really? You really want to know?”

“Yes, I really do” His stare intensified.

“No I’m not okay. I have never been on a date with a guy like you, and never been to a place like this. I can’t for the hell of it understand why you would want to go on a date with me? Me of all the people you could pick. And I can’t afford any of the stuff, because I work a shitty job that doesn't pay much, but it's in the field of what I want to work at, so I just suck it up. And I don't have time for a second job because they keep giving me small shitty assignments that take up most of my time. And then there’s the 500 dollars I have to get by tonight so my roommate doesn’t kick me out.-- oh oh.. “I began to nervously chuckle “I’m all out of food, so can’t get any before Monday when I get paid, since my last 25 dollars are going to tonight's dinner..so no I’m not okay at the moment”

My breath was jagged and uneven and I began pulling on the napkin in front of me.

“Easy Y/N. Breaaathe! Come on baby! Take a deep breath!” He placed one hand between my shoulderblades and one on my hands.

“Breathe with me… One..” He searched for my eyes, and as he caught them he made me take a deep breath with him.

“And two…” another one.

“The last one.. Three” His hand made calming circles on my back as he softly grabbed my hands. My eyes locked with his as we took the last big breath together.

“Good girl!” He praised as he lowered his hand to the small of my back, the praise and touch sent a thrill through my body.

Oh holy shit that gave me the tingles.

“First of all, tonight, it’s on me. Maybe I should have made that clear, my bad. So keep those dollars for a real rainy day” He stated with a small smile and searched for my eyes again. I nodded as I held his eyes for a second.

“Second of all, I think you are absolutely beautiful, sexy and so interesting, so there is no one I would rather be here with than you”

“And thirdly I’m sorry to hear about your work situation. But why don’t you tell me about it and vent for a bit as we enjoy our meal and get to know each other a bit more”

I let out a breath I didn’t know I was holding and nodded.

“Sure, I think I can manage that”

Chris waved the waiter over and ordered for the both of us and as the waiter took the menus Chris squeezed my hands as he cast me another dazzling smile, which made me smile in return and even relax a little bit.

Over the course of our dinner we began to talk and really got to know each other. I learned he had three siblings, two sisters and a brother, loved the Patriots, loved to read when he had the time for it, and graduated top of his class at Harvard law.

I told him about my recent college years and my love for writing and journalism. But whenever he tried to get some family info out of me, I would avoid the question and talk about something else.

I really don’t want to open that can of worms right now. My anxiety is finally calming down.

After a few tries he seemed like he got the hint, and went on to different subjects. As the night progressed and the bottle of wine we had became empty, it seemed as if the night was over.

“This has been wonderful, Chris. Thank you, and sorry about my little thingy earlier tonight”

“Don’t think about it. And yes it really has been wonderful. But I don’t want the night to end quite yet. Are you up for a little walk?”

He looked me right into my eyes and what felt like my soul and all I could do was smile and say “Absolutely!”

We grabbed our things and went for a walk on the streets of downtown Boston. He had his arm around my waist and held me close to his side as we talked some more. Not before long we ended up in front of a little bakery that was placed in a much smaller brick building than the neighbouring houses.

“Uhm, Chris, I think they are closed” I looked at him and crooked an eyebrow.

“Well, I might have pulled a few strings” He answered with a cheeky wink and knocked on the glass door.

A light went on in the small store, and an elderly woman walked up to the door with a big smile on her face, as she saw me and Chris and opened the door.

“Ah Chris! My boy! Just on time.. By about 30 minutes” She exclaimed in a high pitched Boston accent as she pulled him down for a hug and a kiss on the cheek.

“Well you know how it is, Mrs.Kent, time flies when you are in good company” which made him pull me up besides him.

“Mrs. Kent, let me introduce you to Y/N. Y/N, Mrs.Kent. The best baker in Boston”

I went to shake her hand, but was surprised when the old lady pulled me into a hug.

“Oh how good to meet you girly! Come in! Come in. Everything is ready for you” She yanked me towards her, and I frantically looked back at Chris, who held his hand up to his chest and threw his head back in laughter, probably caused by my confused and shocked look by what was going on.

Mrs. Kent dragged me through the entire bakery to a back door, with me casting continued glances at Chris. Mrs. Kent talked the whole way out, but I didn’t really register what she was saying as I was utterly confused. Suddenly the back door opened and my mouth dropped. A little courtyard filled with plants of all sizes and types, and with fairy lights covering every part of the top and walls. In the middle a small table stood with two cushioned chairs and with a small candle on top of a white embroidered tablecloth.

I turned around to see Chris coming up behind me and he grabbed my hand.

“Wauw.. Chris.. This is amazing!” I was in complete awe.

“And it’s all for you sweetheart” He whispered so close to my ear that I felt his hot breath on my skin, giving me goosebumps. He placed me in the seat of one of the chairs, and scooted closer to me as Mrs. Kent returned with a small plate.

“There you go, your dessert. Enjooooy” She said in a sing song smile as she walked back inside.

On the little mint green plate was a blueberry muffin. The most delicious and tasty looking muffin I have ever laid eyes on. Two small dessert forks lay beside it, and Chris picked one up and took a piece of the cake on it, before lifting it up to my lips.

“Open up” He smiled a wicked smile at me and held my eyes as I did as he told me. He placed the fork gently in my mouth and as soon as the soft spongy bit touched my tongue I closed my lips around the fork and closed my eyes and enjoyed the wonderful amazing tasty bite.

“Mmmhmm! That is amazing” I slowly opened my eyes to find Chris staring at my lips and face with his lips slightly agape.

“It sure is” He stated in a soft whisper with somewhat dilated pupils. I couldn't help but turn a slight pink under his stare.

"So Y/N. I want to talk to you about something. It might be weird for you, but just hear me out, okay?"

"Ehm.. sure?" I hesitated, not knowing where this was going.

"You see, I'm a very busy man and my work fills up a lot of my time, so to have the time to find someone special, someone like you, is very rare for me" he took my hands in his "and I would love nothing more than to dive deeper into you and me, but my life as it is prevents that. So.." he took a breath and looked at me, studying my features "so I want to work out a compromise that hopefully can benefit both of us. I have enough money for a lifetime, but nothing or no one to spend it on and.. maybe you could help me with that" He looked away almost shyly before catching my gaze again.

"... I don't think I understand, Chris?" I swallowed hard, feeling on fire under his touch and stare.

"Hehe.. right. I want to start a sugar daddy/sugar baby relationship with you"

"WHAT????"

I was in utter shock. This wasn't even on my radar of things that could happen.

Oh my god! How stupid was I to think Chris Evans would want an actual relationship with me.

I'm only good for what… arm candy? Sex escapades? No no no…

This is not how I expected this night to go. Maybe a goodnight kiss and if I was lucky a second date. Not being asked to be a fucking sugar baby!?

Do I look that desperate?

“Y/N… Hey Y/N… “ Chris tried to regain eye contact with me, while my mind completely took over and ran a mile a minute. “Sweetheart, look at me” Nerves could be heard in his voice.

Suddenly I turned to him and stared right at him with tears filling my eyes.

“Wow, Y/N calm down. Listen listen… I just wanted to..”

“Oh I’m perfectly aware of what you wanted.” I exclaimed in sadness and somewhat rage. “And to think I really thought I had a chance with someone like you, I guess I really am stupid” This was spoken with much more sadness and merely as a whisper as I got up from the table.

“Wait Y/N!” Chris went to grab my hand as I began to walk away, but I pulled it to me before he could get a grip on it. “What, Chris? What did you really think I would say to this… this lewd proposal…? Huh?” I straightened my back and glared at him, sniffled a little before continuing “You think I would absolutely love being.. Being a whore for you and your money? I couldn't care less about how much money you got. I thought you were a good man, a man I could really fall for. Turns out you just want a little plaything to toss money at. I might not be rich or have the best job, but I’m not selling myself for some coin and a dick!”

I turned before I could see his reaction. I just knew I had to leave before I completely broke down. My anxiety was going up by the seconds.

Breathe girl! Just till you get to the streets to find a way home.

I ran through the little bakery, past a very confused Mrs. Kent.

“Oh dear, where’s the fire?” She yelled as I ran towards the front door. The streetlights brought a yellow somber atmosphere as I looked up and down the street for a cab or bus stop. The moment my feet stood still for a second, tears filled my eyes as I angrily wiped them from my cheeks as they rolled down.

Behind me I could hear the little bell ring from the door of the bakery and soon Chris’ words reached me.

“Y/N WAIT!”

I just shook my head as I pulled my jacket tight around me and began walking. His heavy footsteps could be heard behind me faster and faster as he caught up with me.

“Y/N”.. he grabbed my shoulders to turn me around to face him, but I just kept staring at my feet.

“Listen.. Shit” He dragged his hand across his face and then put a finger under my chin to lift my face up to meet his. My eyes was still drawn downwards.

“I fucked that whole thing up big time! I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean for it to sound like I was buying you or something. Trust me!”

“Well it did!” I answered in a small sobbing voice.

“I know! And holy shit I’m sorry for that! It was never my intention to make you feel like that. Please let me explain better. Let’s go back to the courtyard” He wrapped his arm around my shoulders and began taking a step forward.

“No” I stood still.

“Chris, I want to go home. Please”

He looked at me with regret written all over his face and sighed.

“Alright. But I’m driving you home. Not up for debate”

I barely gave a nod, and he pulled me towards his car, which I had no idea how he got to the bakery from the restaurant.

The drive back to my place was silent. I just kept myself tucked up against my door, glancing out the window at the city lights passing by.

“Y/N please believe me when I say I’m sorry! I just thought…”

“It’s okay Chris. Let’s just write this off as a bad date and leave it at that” My eyes stayed tuned on the passing streets as I answered him. I heard him say a whispered “fuck” under his breath.

As soon we came to a stop in front of my apartment building I unbuckled and got out.

“Bye Chris. Thanks for dinner” I cast a quick glance at him before getting out of the car.

“Wait.. Shit!” Chris struggled with his seat belt, and when he finally got out of the car I was almost at the door.

“Y/N… just hold up for a second”

He ran up to me, and for some God knows what reason I lingered at the door.

I just looked at him, a proper mess with makeup down my face.

“I really am sorry. I really hope you would consider giving me another chance, even though I don’t deserve it. Arrh! I just fucked this up majorly!”

“I don’t know what to say, Chris. I don’t know if I can, since I’m obviously not the kind of girl you are after. Goodnight, Chris, and drive home safe”

I gave him a sad small smile and went inside. I made it up the first flight of stairs before the tears began dripping down my face again.

How could I be so stupid?

Taglist

@thejemersoninferno

#Chris Evans #daddy chris evans #chris evans smut #chris evans au #chris evans fanfiction #chris evans x reader #Avengers #MCU #captain america

157 notes · View notes

lunasquared · 3 years

Text

Protect the Ones You Love (Save Them From the Hurt)

By @lost-lunar-wolf for @potts89 ( @friendly-neighborhood-exchange)

Rating: Teen and Up

Relationships: Peter Parker & Tony Stark, Peter Parker & Pepper Potts, Pepper Potts/Tony Stark

Characters: Peter Parker, Tony Stark, Pepper Potts

Summary:

“Peter, Tony seems like a really nice guy, we’ve been talking for weeks now-”

“You’ve been talking for weeks? Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Pete,” Virginia sighed, resting her hands on Peter’s shoulders and looking him in the eye. “I wasn’t sure if it was even going to go anywhere."

After starting a new life and opening a cafe in New York, Peter gets a little worried and protective when his mom starts dating again. If only Tony didn't seem so dang perfect.

AO3 Link

Living in the city was very different from living in other places. Peter knew that very well even though for most of his life he had lived in the city. Before living in the city he and his mom had moved around a bit while he was younger before finally settling down in New York City after some particularly rough years.

Even for him and his mom living in the city was different for them than it was for others because many people worked some sort of corporate job while his mom opened and ran a small cafe only a few blocks from Grand Central called Caffè e Dolci. It was a small hole in the wall type place on the outside but the inside was a good size filled with lots of seating and had different plants hanging around with vines that framed the windows and pictures. Peter’s favorites were the Queen Marble Pothos that framed the picture of Venice Italy.

Overall though, the cafe did pretty well. In the mornings there was a rush as people made their way to work then it slowed down a bit then picked up again around lunch time then from there the cafe was typically on the slower side until closing. Though on weekdays Peter was never there for the lunch rush or part of the morning rush because of school. But after school and on weekends Peter would always work in the cafe to help his mom. He enjoyed helping his mom in the cafe, it meant he got to bake almost all the time and make coffees and different drinks and secretly snack on some of the foods he baked and it also meant he got to spend time with his mom. It was enjoyable to say the least. A lot of work yes, but enjoyable overall.

Typically after work for the day, Peter and his mom would head upstairs to their small apartment above the cafe and have dinner together before Peter started on his homework. It was nothing big or fancy, but it was enough for him and his mom and Peter couldn’t ask for anything more.

But that was a typical day, and today was not a typical day. It was a change in their routine and Peter didn’t like change.

“Wait you’re going on a date?” Peter clarified after his mom had said she was going out with someone.

“I guess it’s a date.” Virginia said, pulling her hair out of its tight bun as she and Peter walked up to the apartment.

“Mom are you sure that’s a good idea?” Peter pressed slightly.

He was worried to say the least. Maybe it was just him being over protective of his mom but-

“Peter, Tony seems like a really nice guy, we’ve been talking for weeks now-”

“You’ve been talking for weeks? Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Pete,” Virginia sighed, resting her hands on Peter’s shoulders and looking him in the eye. “I wasn’t sure if it was even going to go anywhere. Tony’s a regular, he normally comes in right after the lunch rush and we just— I don’t know, we hit it off and today he asked if I wanted to go to dinner with him and I said yes because he seems like a very genuine guy and I like him.”

“I’m happy for you mom. I just, I don’t want you to get hurt again. It was-”

“I know Peter, but I don’t think Tony is like that. I wouldn’t have said yes if I had any doubt. I’ll give you the restaurant address and I’ll share my location with you so you can make sure I’m okay if that would make you feel better.” Virginia laughed ruffling Peter’s hair. “Heck if you’re that worried I’ll even let you sit across the street to spy on us if you want.”

“Do you want me to?” Peter questioned.

“No, but if that’s what it will take to make sure you’re not sitting here pacing a hole in the floor then that’s what you’ll do.”

“It’s okay. I’ll be fine here, just, yeah restaurant address and stuff.”

“I love you Peter.” Virginia said softly, placing a light kiss on Peter’s forehead.

“I love you too mom, now go get ready for your date.”

***

Just because Peter didn’t spy on his mom's date, did not mean he wasn’t worried out of his mind. The entire time she was gone Peter was on the couch, not pacing a hole in the floor per his mothers request, with his phone next to him open with her location. Peter didn’t officially meet the guy, Tony apparently, before they left, but he did catch a glimpse of him out the window and okay Tony did look like a nice guy and he gave his mom a small bouquet of orchids, which are her favorite but not important, but what is important is that his mom did look happy and the guy looked equally as happy if not even a little shy.

But aside from his worry, Peter did manage to get his homework done, but having nothing to do meant he was sitting with his phone constantly refreshing the location to make sure everything was okay. He tried watching a movie, but that failed miserably as he didn’t pay any attention to the tv screen at all. By the end of the night Peter did end up pacing around the apartment until he heard the lock turn around 11:30 and he stopped in his tracks, his eyes fixated on the door until his mom walked inside and locked the door behind her.

“So?” Peter questioned taking notice of his mom’s expression slightly worried by the unreadable look until she broke out into a smile.

“It was really good. We’re gonna go out again sometime soon.”

“And he’s nice?”

“Really nice.” She confirmed placing the small bouquet of orchids in a vase.

“I’m happy for you mom. I really hope it goes well for you.”

“Thanks Peter. I’m happy too.” Virginia smiled and pulled her kid into a hug. “Now bedtime, we have to get up early tomorrow if you wanna make those chocolate croissants you were talking about before school.”

***

Virginia and Tony had been going out for a few months now and Peter was happy for them, he really was. His mom was happier than he had seen her in a long time and the few times he had seen Tony, he seemed like a good guy. But the only problem was Peter hadn’t really met him. He knew they were taking their relationship kind of slow, which wasn’t an issue at all, but Peter did want to meet the guy before— well before things went on longer and he could know if Tony was actually a good guy or not. And well he also kind of wanted to meet the guy that was kind of taking time away from him and his mom. Peter knew he couldn’t complain, he still got his mom in the mornings and most days after school, but it was starting to become more of a regular thing for his mom to go out with Tony at night instead of hanging out with him. But he would never tell his mom that. She’s happy and it’s not like Peter doesn’t get anytime with her at all, he’s just being selfish that’s all.

“Peter!” Virginia called when Peter walked into the cafe after school.

“Hey mom, what’s up?” Peter greeted giving his mom a quick hug before setting his stuff down behind the counter and tying an apron around his waist so he could start prepping some of the bakery items for the next day. Typically he would just get up a little early in the mornings before school to prep everything for the day, but on the weekends they tended to have larger crowds so Peter liked to have some stuff ready the night before so he could bake it in the morning and help his mom out a bit more on the floor rather than being in the kitchen the whole time baking.

“So you know how Tony and I have been going out for a few months now.” Virginia started, and helped Peter pull out some of the ingredients she knew he would need. “Well I was thinking that it might be a good time for you to meet him.”

“Yeah, I think that would be good.” Peter agreed. “When were you thinking?”

“Tonight?”

“I mean- yeah that’s fine, I have a little homework that I want to get done tonight, but that’s fine, I can probably finish beforehand.”

“You sure tonight is okay?” Virginia questioned. “Because I can tell him we have to reschedule.”

Peter nodded. “Yeah tonight’s fine, worst case I do some of my homework over the weekend.”

“Okay well, he’ll be here around 6:30-7.” Virginia said and pressed a light kiss to Peter’s temple. “I’m excited for you to meet him.”

“Yeah me too.”

***

Right as Peter finished up his homework he heard a knock on the door knowing it was Tony. Part of him was glad that they weren’t going out, but at the same time Peter wasn’t too fond of having a stranger in their apartment. And while technically Tony wasn’t a stranger to his mom he was to Peter. He didn’t like strangers in his home, but he guessed that it was better than going out or going to Tony’s place.

He heard talking in the kitchen which let him know that his mom had let Tony in but there was no way-

“Peter, come on out to meet Tony!” His mom called, and that was what he was waiting for, to be told to come out and not go on his own.

There was no other reason for that other than he didn’t want to seem anxious or eager to meet Tony. He was, but he didn’t want Tony knowing that.

Peter walked out of his room and into the kitchen trying his best to conceal his anxiousness, though he knew it showed in the fidgeting in his hands — he wasn’t really sure what else to do with them.

“Hi.” Peter greeted with a little wave when he got to the kitchen. “It’s nice to meet you.”

“Nice to finally meet you as well.” Tony said, offering his hand for Peter to shake which he accepted. “I’ve heard a lot about you.”

“All good things I hope.” Peter said with a little chuckle.

“I can assure they were.”

“That’s good to hear, I’ve heard very little about you.”

“Oh?” Tony questioned.

“Just a few things, nothing like my mom was dating Tony Stark or anything.” Peter said with a glance over to his mom who just smiled and shrugged.

“I guess it never really came up.” Virginia laughed. “Well dinner is ready if you guys are ready to eat. We’ve got spaghetti aglio e olio and garlic bread.”

“Thank you for cooking. I bet it will be delicious.” Tony said following Peter’s lead of sitting down at the table.

Tony got lucky he didn’t sit in Virginia's spot.

“Thanks mom.” Peter said as his mom sat down at the table bringing the large bowl of pasta with her.

For the most part dinner went smoothly, it wasn’t nearly as awkward as Peter was expecting it to be. He was also proud and somewhat surprised of himself that he wasn’t freaking out over the fact that Tony freaking Stark was sitting at his table eating dinner with him and his mom. Here Tony seemed like just a normal guy not the one that was always shown on TV. But just because it was Tony Stark did not mean Peter still wasn’t worried about his mom. Of course he was she’s his mom, and he wanted to protect her and make sure no one hurt her, even if he knew she could take care of herself. To an extent he was still a bit wary of Tony. He knew a bit about Tony’s past, though that was his past, and Peter had noticed in the more recent years that wasn’t who Tony was anymore, and he knew people could change, so he wouldn’t judge Tony for that.

All of that aside, Peter was a little upset his mom hadn’t told him more about Tony. It wasn’t that his mom was required to tell him everything there was to know about Tony, heck he didn’t expect her to. But his mom barely talked about him to the point where Peter knew they were together because they would go out a couple times a week, but Peter knew little to nothing about the guy. Virginia was happy and honestly that was all Peter cared about, but he wished that his mom had told him a little more about Tony.

“So Peter, are you enjoying school?” Tony asked, and Peter panicked a little as he was mid chew but Tony kept going which made him relax slightly. “You’re mom said you were going to Midtown tech, that’s a really great school.”

Peter nodded as he swallowed his food. “Yeah I enjoy it. It’s a bit — I don’t know-” He trailed off trying to think of the right word.

“Hard?” Tony supplied questioningly.

“More like boring.” Peter settled on.

“Oh?”

Peter only shrugged and took another bite of pasta.

“Peter is at the top of all of his classes.” Virginia supplied with a proud smile in Peter’s direction.

Peter ducked his head at the praise. “I usually already know what they are teaching and if not I tend to pick up on it pretty fast. Top of the class isn’t that big of a deal.”

“Not that big of a deal?” Tony raised an eyebrow. “Kid that’s amazing! That’s a hard spot to get, it takes a lot of effort to get there.”

Peter only shrugged, he had never been the best at accepting compliments of any sort. “I mean — I don’t know — I’m not really interested in a lot of the stuff they teach. I prefer chemistry and robotics and engineering type stuff. Yeah we have a robotics club at school and I’m taking chemistry, but like I said I already know most of that stuff so it’s a little boring.”

“Pepper, your kid is a genius!” Tony exclaimed.

Peter shot a questioning glance between Tony and his mom. “Who’s Pepper?” Peter asked, making no effort to hide the sass or maybe it was disapproval? In his voice.

“Peter.” Virginia said sternly, immediately making Peter back down. “It’s a nickname, it’s not a big deal.”

“But-” Peter started before cutting himself off when his mom gave a slight head tilt and eyebrow raise, he knew it was irrational to be upset over something like a nickname, but part of him felt like maybe he was trying to find something to not like Tony over. He seemed to… nice. Too nice. Too good to be true. “Sorry.”

“It’s okay.” Tony assured. “Giving people nicknames is just something I do. I can stop if you don’t like it.”

This guy would be the death of Peter! He was too nice! There had to be something wrong! They were never this nice and had no baggage. Something always went wrong if they were this nice.

“No it’s all good. I’m just not used to people giving my mom nicknames that’s all.”

There was an awkward silence for a few moments and Peter internally cursed at himself and balled his hands into fists for causing it. Of course he would be the one to mess it up. He was so focused on trying to find something about Tony that wasn’t good and protecting his mom, he forgot that his mom was actually happy.

“Peter,” Virginia said, breaking the silence. “Tony was telling me the other day about some of the stuff he’s working on. I think you’d find it interesting.” She shifted her attention to Tony. “As long as you’re able to share.”

Tony nodded eagerly. “Yeah so right now I’m working on a Binarily Retro-Framing type thing — holographs if you will — but I’m currently working on transforming its usage for therapeutic purposes.”

“Was that not its intention?” Peter questioned.

“Yes and no. That was my original intention for it, however one of the technicians working on the prototype was trying to have it be used for something else. I can’t go into much more detail, but long story short they were found to be unfit to continue working on the project and other projects and were laid off.”

“Are you trying to make it into like a trauma therapy of sorts?”

“Exactly. I’m still working out some of the major issues, but it’s usable. I’m mainly trying to ensure that when it comes to actually using it for trauma, it’s completely safe and the person using it understands that as well. It basically hijacks your hippocampus which isn’t the most fun experience, so I’m working on ensuring it doesn’t tap into the brain too much while it’s still doing its job. Right now it’s glitching so you can’t choose the memory it plays. You can typically get out of it easily by yourself and still be aware it’s a memory, but the problem is you don’t know what it will be until it forms and that’s a big problem.”

“Yeah that makes sense.” Peter agreed with a nod. “You want to make sure it gets into the hippocampus enough to pull a specific memory and be able to live through it, while still being aware it isn’t real and having enough awareness within that to get out whenever needed.”

“Precisely.” Tony confirmed. “You should come over sometime to check it out. Heck maybe you’d be able figure out some of the parts I’m struggling with.”

“That- that sounds fun. Mom is that okay?”

“Yeah that’s perfectly fine.” Virginia agreed. “Tony is there a day that works well for you?”

“I’d have to check to be completely sure, but I’m pretty sure I'm free next Wednesday.”

“I guess it works out that you don’t have anything after school on Wednesday.” Virginia smiled at Peter. “That work for you?”

“Y-yeah that’s good.”

“Is it okay if I have Happy pick him up from school on Wednesday then?” Tony asked. “I would feel bad if he had to take the subway, or if not I could grab him if you wanted.”

“Happy can grab him, that's fine.”

“Uh who’s Happy?” Peter questioned looking between the two adults.

“Happy is my driver and bodyguard.” Tony answered.

“Wait does that mean-”

“No, I drove here, so he’s doing whatever he does on his off time. Happy mainly drives me to events or more high profile type things.” Tony explained.

Peter nodded. That made sense, well kinda, it really didn’t, but then again Peter had never known someone who had a driver or bodyguard.

The rest of dinner went smoothly. Peter got to learn a little bit more about how his mom and Tony met and how that led to dating. It was all kinda lovey dovey mushy stuff that Peter was sure they were exaggerating on just to make him uncomfortable, but he was happy for them. They seemed happy together and Peter liked seeing his mom happy. He hadn’t seen her this happy in a long time.

***

Wednesday couldn’t come fast enough and now that it was here Peter couldn’t seem to shake off the nerves. He was going to Tony freaking Stark’s lab, which is the coolest thing he’s ever done in his life. And well technically he hasn’t done that yet as he was outside of his school waiting for this Happy person to pick him up. Both Pepper and Tony had told him to look for a larger guy in a suit driving a black Audi.

Peter was brought out of his thoughts when he heard a horn honk and saw a guy step out of black Audi and make eye contact with Peter.

“Are you Pepper’s kid?” The man, who Peter assumed was Happy, who didn’t look very happy, asked.

“Uh yeah.” Peter answered slightly cringing at the nickname for his mom. “Yeah, I’m Virginia’s kid.”

“Tony said he’ll meet us at the Tower, he’s finishing up a meeting so…” Happy trailed off and nodded towards the car and Peter took that as a sign to get in.

Peter got in the back seat and went to introduce himself a bit better to Happy, but the man put up the divider between them and Peter sunk down in his seat. The ride to the tower was uneventful and Happy didn’t roll down the divider at all. For a man who’s name (nickname?) is Happy he doesn’t seem very happy Peter decided.

When they arrived at the Tower Peter got out of the back seat and thanked Happy when he rolled down the window.

“Will Tony meet me down here?” Peter asked before Happy could roll up the window.

“Yeah Tony should be down in a minute.” Happy answered rolling up the window before Peter could say anything else.

As if on cue the elevator behind Peter dinged and the kid spun around right in time to see Tony walk out.

“Hey kid!” Tony greeted. “Ready to head up?”

“Y-yeah I’m ready.” Peter replied following Tony back into the elevator. “Is Happy always like that?”

“Like what?”

“Not happy?”

“Ah,” Tony nodded in understanding. “He’s like that until you get to know him so don’t take it personally. I promise he’s not always like that.”

“It’s okay, I just thought I may have done something wrong.”

The rest of the elevator ride was filled with silence that Peter was sure he was making awkward as he rocked back and forth on the balls of his feet with his hands fidgeting behind his back. Peter wasn’t sure what type of lab he was expecting when the elevator doors opened but it sure as heck wasn’t what he saw before him. He slowly trailed behind Tony as the man walked out of the elevator and put in a code that opened a sliding glass door that led into the lab.

Peter stood in the entryway of the lab his eyes wide and his mouth slightly hung open as he took in the sight before him. The lab was huge, filled with machines Peter could have only dreamed of ever seeing. There were holographs scattered in different places, that Peter could only assume were part of projects Tony was working on. In one corner there were a few bots that were beeping excitedly at the sight of Tony and in the other was a half taken apart car. The whole thing was such a dream for Peter. He never in his life thought he would one day see a lab as advanced as this let alone a lab much bigger than his small corner in his room where he worked on projects he pulled from dumpsters.

“Like it kid?” Tony asked with a small chuckle as he pat one of the bots on the claw.

“This is amazing.” Peter breathed taking a few cautious steps further into the lab.

“Yeah it’s pretty amazing.” Tony laughed coming back towards Peter and away from the bots. “You wanna see something cool?”

Peter only nodded still too in shock to get many words out.

“Jarvis?” Tony said with a glint in his voice that Peter had never heard before and a smile on his face that was similar, yet very different, from the one Tony had around his mom.

“Welcome back sir.” A voice with a british accent said and Peter looked up to the ceiling trying to figure out where the voice was coming from. “And welcome Peter, it’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“Uh you too?” Peter said back questionably before looking over to Tony. “What is that and how does he know my name?”

“That’s Jarvis, he’s an AI,” Tony explained. “He runs the lab and the entire tower and he knows everything.”

“And what exactly does he do?”

“He does pretty much anything. Here he helps me run different diagnostics for whatever I’m working on to make sure it doesn’t blow up, and other times he’s just someone to talk to. Obviously he does a lot more than just those things but that does sum it up pretty well.”

“That’s so cool! Does Jarvis help you with your Binarily Retro-Framing thing?” Peter asked.

“Yeah, so how it works is— actually I think it would make more sense if I showed you what I’m talking about while explaining.” Tony started walking and motioned for Peter to follow him. “So over here I have a room that is dedicated to B.A.R.F.-”

“B.A.R.F.?” Peter questioned internally cursing at himself for cutting Tony off. “Sorry.”

“No apologies, it's a valid question.” Tony assured. “B.A.R.F. or Binarily Augmented Retro-Framing, and yes I know I need to work on that acronym, but that’s what I’m calling it for now. Anyways I have a room dedicated to it because of how it works.”

Tony opened a door at the other end of the lab and Peter followed him inside. It was a simple square room with a small cut out section with glass that allowed one to see to the rest of the room.

“Why a room like this?” Peter asked.

“It uses drones to project the memory into the room.” Tony explained. “With a set up like this, it helps contain everything and it ensures that nothing gets destroyed anywhere else in case the person using it starts to panic and it also makes sure a second person who is helping with controls doesn’t get hurt and can shut it down if needed.”

“That’s smart. Having like a backup thing.” Peter said half not paying attention as he took a glance over some of the controls. “So how exactly does it work?”

“Like I said it uses drones to project the memory, but you use a special pair of glasses that I created to actually access that memory through the hippocampus. Once the memory is accessed, the glasses and drones are linked and the drones will project it. Then the controls you see here,” Tony gestured to the control panel that Peter was studying before. “These are for the outside person to manually control the drones if needed. It can shut them off or rewind the memory or go to a different part, things like that.”

“That’s amazing that you can even do something like this. But you said you were having some problems with the memory access?”

“Kind of. Since dinner when I was telling you about it I got it working a little better where you can choose the type of memory, but from there you can’t choose a specific one, which is still an issue.”

“And being able to get out of that memory?” Peter asked.

“That part is working great now. As long as the person is aware they are not actually in that situation and are experiencing it through B.A.R.F. they can shut it down easily by themselves. Even if they aren’t completely aware, by taking off the glasses it shuts down the system.”

“That-” Peter trailed off his hands ghosting over the controls before turning back to face Tony who was standing in the doorway with his hands in his pockets watching Peter. “Sorry I’m just- this is insane, I’m just trying to process it all.”

“You’re alright kid, take your time, it is a lot to process.”

Peter looked over the controls and at some of the drones for the next few minutes before turning back to Tony. “How exactly are you fixing the memory override thing?”

“Ah yes that part, here I can show you what I’m attempting to do back in the main part of the lab.” Tony said, pushing off of the wall and going back out into the main part of the lab making sure Peter was following him before going all the way.

The two sat down at one of the desks with a computer screen and a few holograms around. Tony typed a few commands into the computer before grabbing one of the holograms and moving it between him and Peter.

“So this is the brain obviously.” Tony said gesturing to the hologram.

For the next, who knows how long because Peter stopped paying attention to time too entranced in what Tony was explaining, Tony explained to Peter where exactly the problem was, the tactics he had tried to fix it with, and how he was planning on fixing it now.

“The problem is, I’m not sure if that will work or not.” Tony finished.

Peter turned the hologram a little before taking a quick glance at the screen with Tony’s newest plans calculations on it.

“It looks like it should work because you’re toning down that electrical signal which should allow for more localized control.” Peter shrugged and pushed the holograph closer to Tony. “Then again I’m not an expert in neurology so that could be totally wrong.”

Tony laughed as he caught the hologram. “Me too kid, which is why I’m having problems with it. Jarvis is saying what you’re saying and what I was thinking so hopefully it will work.”

“Can I try it?” Peter asked a little cautiously unsure if he was crossing any lines by asking.

“Are you comfortable trying it?” Tony questioned. “Because I’m fine with you trying it, I just want to make sure you actually want to.”

“Yeah, I think with this implementation, then me trying it, I might have a better understanding of how it actually works and can be a bit more helpful.”

“As long as you’re sure, kid, then let’s get you set up.”

After the two of them ensured the update on the system was complete, Peter followed Tony into the B.A.R.F room and put on the glasses that Tony handed him then stood in the middle of the room while Tony was by the control panel.

“Just think of a happy memory or something kid, then it should start to form around you.” Tony said.

Peter closed his eyes and tried to focus on a good memory of him and his mom in the cafe. When Peter opened his eyes he wasn’t standing in the cafe though, he was in an old apartment he and his mom had in another state. From the looks of it though and from Peter’s memory it was a good memory.

In the middle of the room was a table where Peter and his mom both sat smiling at the chess game they were playing. Peter was younger here, 8 at the oldest. He was winning the game, like he almost always did and was getting ready to move the last piece before he won.

“Checkmate!” Little Peter said watching his mom laugh and reach across the table to shake his hand.

“Great win Peter!” Virginia said reaching across the table further to ruffle Peter’s hair.

“Mom!” Little Peter whined attempting to duck away from the assault on his hair.

“Dinner’s ready.” A new voice said as a guy about 6 feet tall with light brown hair walked into the room.

The new voice scared little Peter and he jumped back scattering the chess pieces across the floor in the process. The fear on little Peter’s face as he looked up towards the guy was the last thing Peter saw before he ripped the glasses off his face and stormed out of the room pressing the heel of his palms into his eyes as he paced through the lab trying to get the memory that resurfaced out of his head. Even though B.A.R.F. didn’t show the ending, it played clear as day in Peter’s head.

“Peter?” He heard Tony ask cautiously.

Peter pulled his hands away from his eyes and balled them into fists at his side. “Why do you think it’s just me and my mom huh? It’s better when it’s just us, it’s always been better that way. Then- then you just show up here all perfect nice guy billionaire and act all- just act too perfect. They always started like that you know, always. They were always too nice, then they turned to shit. And- and all you’re gonna end up doing is hurting my mom, that’s what they always do and I won’t let that happen again. I won’t let her get hurt, I won’t let you hurt her.”

Peter didn’t wait for a response from Tony and stormed out of the lab. He didn’t care that he and Tony had a good time in the lab beforehand, Tony would hurt his mom and he wouldn’t allow that to happen.

***

When Peter got back from the Tower it was almost 9 o’clock. The cafe had long since closed and he was dreading having to go inside his apartment and face his mom. Maybe it was slightly irrational to think Tony was like every other guy, but at the same time he couldn’t shake that ‘what if’ thought from his head. Maybe he had overreacted a little, but he was panicked and that memory brought up too many unwanted emotions for him to have any clear thought of what he was saying at the time. He was sure that after he left the Tower, Tony would have called his mom and he knew his mom would probably try to talk to him about it, hence the dread of going into his apartment. With a deep breath knowing he would have to face his mom eventually, Peter opened the apartment door and to no surprise his mom was waiting for him at the kitchen table with a serious, yet soft, look on her face.

“You wanna tell me what happened?” Virginia asked nodding to the seat across from her at the table.

Knowing there was no way Peter was going to get out of this he sighed and set his backpack down near the door. “I’ll get the hot chocolate.”

***

“And that’s when I left.” Peter finished explaining what happened at the Tower to his mom.

“Tony called me right after you left, you know.” Virginia said, taking a small sip from her mug. “He was worried about you, said you seemed really upset, he wasn’t sure how much was actually directed at him and how much was just stuff you needed to get off your chest.”

“He’s nice, ya know?” Peter said, dropping his head into his hands. “He really is nice, and I want to believe that, I do. He welcomed you into his life, then me, and he makes you happy, heck he invited me to his lab and we got to talk science for hours, I doubt he does that we just anyone and I- I don’t know- he’s nice, but he’s too nice- and that sounds ungrateful, but-”

“But you don’t want a repeat of what happened last time.” Virginia finished reaching across the table gently taking Peter’s hand into her own. “Neither of us want a repeat of last time Peter. I know Tony being in our lives has been different, and I know you just met him, but he isn’t like the others Peter-”

“How do you know that?!” Peter exclaimed, running his hands through his hair pulling his hand away from his mom’s in the process. He took a deep breath and lowered his voice to a more reasonable level knowing that raising his voice would get him nowhere. “How do you know he won’t end up like the others? He’s nice, and he’s kind, and-”

“Do you want me to be honest with you Peter?” Virginia asked cutting Peter off, for which Peter was honestly thankful for, he wasn’t sure if he could have stopped his ramble otherwise, so he nodded. “I don’t know that he won’t be like the others, but what I do know is that none of the signs are there. I know that I don’t get this little voice in the back of my head telling me something is wrong. I know that from whatever life of his we see on TV and the life of his that he has shared with me, that he worked his hardest to become a better person and he still is working to be better. So yeah Peter, I don’t know that he won’t end up like the others, but sometimes, sometimes you have to take a risk, and this one is one I’m willing to take. I’m happy Peter, but I’m only happy if you’re happy. I’m not saying you don’t have to be cautious of him, you have every right to be. I’m not even saying you have to like him right off the bat, but I am asking that you at least try to get to know Tony. And if you actually try and you don’t like him because of a bad feeling then we’ll go from there, but for now can you please try?”

Peter rubbed his eyes and nodded. “Yeah- yeah I can try mom. I’m sorry.”

“You don’t have to apologize Peter, it's okay.”

“I love you mom, I just don’t want to see you hurt again.”

“I know Peter, I love you too.” Virginia said before standing up and pressing a kiss to Peter’s forehead. “Now go get ready for bed, you’ve got some muffins to prep in the morning.”

***

It was over a week before Peter saw Tony again. Then again he wasn’t actively avoiding him; it was just slightly consciously avoiding him, like making sure he was already in bed when his mom and Tony got back from their date on Friday and making sure he stayed in his room until Tony left Saturday morning. (Which Tony staying the night was a new thing and he wasn’t sure how he was feeling about that, but that’s a thing for a different time). But what he was not expecting was to see Tony in his apartment after school the next Friday drinking a cup of coffee at his kitchen table.

“Uh hi.” Peter greeted closing the door behind him as he took calculated steps into the apartment. “I didn’t know you were here.”

“Sorry, Pep- uh Virginia was finishing up a few things downstairs and said I could come up here because the one of the board members called and-”

“It’s okay, as long as my mom said it’s fine then it’s fine, you don’t have to explain yourself.” Peter said, setting his backpack down by the table before going to the kitchen to grab a glass of water.

“Peter,” Tony said as Peter stepped out of the kitchen and back towards the table. “Can we talk?”

“Yeah, we probably should.” Peter replied sitting down at the table across from Tony.

“Look Peter, I’m sorry-”

“No, don't apologize.” Peter said cutting Tony off. “You don’t have to apologize for doing nothing wrong. I’m sorry for storming out the other day and for kind of blowing up on you. It’s just- look it was hard for us for a few years after that and I know at least for me there’s somethings I haven’t gotten over yet. I shouldn’t have taken it out on you. I know you mean well and I can see you make my mom happy it’s just- I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop, you know? Like it’s all so good, what’s gonna go wrong, because something always goes wrong, and I don’t want it to be that my mom gets hurt, because I don’t know if I can see her hurt again.”

“Peter I’m not saying I understand, because I don’t, but I do hear what you are saying and it makes sense why you would be extremely protective of your mom and wary of me. Those feelings are completely valid. I’m not going to hurt your mom and I’m not going to hurt you, I can promise you that. I doubt you’ll believe that, but I’m still going to say it. I know I’ve only been seeing Virginia for a few months, but I really like her and I can see this going somewhere farther. I’m not saying it will anytime soon, but I think you get the point. I can’t promise much for the future other than what I already have, but if you’re willing I’d like to get to know you as well Peter, because from the looks of it we’re gonna be in each others lives and I don’t know about you, but I don’t want it to be like walking on eggshells all the time, so what do you say? We try again and get to know each other?”

Peter nodded and let out a small chuckle. “Yeah that- that sounds good. You’re right I don’t completely believe you when you say you can promise that, but I’ll hold you to that so take this warning as you will, you hurt my mom and I make no promises of what I will or will not do after that.”

“Peter if I ever do anything that remotely hurts your mom you have full permission to punch me in the face as hard as you can.”

“You say that now Tony, but I won’t hesitate.”

“Good, I don’t want you too.” Tony stuck his hand out across the table. “Truce?”

“Truce.” Peter said, reaching out and shaking Tony’s hand. “So do you want to see this old record player I’m fixing up while we wait for my mom?”

***

Peter wasn’t sure how long he and Tony were working on the record player for when Virginia came upstairs, but they were both nose deep in it and she scared the crap out of both of them when she came into the apartment.

“What are you guys doing?” Virginia asked her eyes flicking between Peter, Tony, and the record player.

“I was showing Tony the record player that I found the other day and he was helping me fix it.” Peter explained.

“So I take it that you two talked then.”

“Yeah we did, we’re good now.”

“That’s good.” Virginia said setting her stuff down on the counter. “So I take it, it would be okay if Tony stayed for dinner then.”

“I mean sure, but that’s not up to me.” Peter replied, glancing over to Tony.

“If you want me to stay then I’ll stay.” Tony replied.

“Alright then, how about we order some Chinese food and play a game while we wait?”

“Sounds good.” Peter and Tony both replied.

“I’m picking the game!” Peter exclaimed, shooting up from his seat and running off to grab a game.

“You two okay now?” Virginia asked Tony now that Peter was out of ear shot for a moment.

“Yeah we’re okay now. I don’t think we ever weren’t just a big misunderstanding, and lack of communication is all.” Tony said and stood up from his seat and walked over to Virginia. “Hug?”

Virginia nodded and Tony pulled her into a hug right as Peter came back into the room.

“You know just because I said I would try does not mean I want to see this.” Peter proclaimed loudly.

“What? You mean this?” Virginia said before placing a kiss on Tony’s lips earning a gag from Peter.

“You two are gross I don’t want to see that.” Peter said rolling his eyes and sitting down at the table pulling the cards out of the bag. “Oh yeah and we’re playing Uno!”

Almost 15 minutes later they were 2 card shuffles deep into the first round. Peter had only 1 card left, Virginia wasn’t far behind with 2 cards, and Tony, Tony had a mischievous look on his face as he got ready for his turn with 3 cards in his hand.

“I don’t like that look.” Peter said, staring at Tony as he got ready to place the card. “I thought we called truce.”

“Yeah, but it’s an unspoken rule that all truces go out the window while playing Uno.” Tony said then immediately placed down a draw 4 card directed at Peter who was sitting next to him.

Peter stared at Tony wide eyed in shock, then moved his eyes to the cards then back to Tony. “What the fuck Anthony.”

“Whoa language.” Virginia and Tony said at the same time.

“You can’t expect me to not say that when he places a draw 4 card when I have one card left.” Peter said as if it would help his case at all.

Tony tried not to laugh at Peter’s statement while his mom just shook her head and sighed.

“Just draw your cards Peter, accept your fate.” Virginia said with a laugh.

The game continued on for a few more rounds and right before Peter went to play his last card there was a knock on the door.

“Welp guess that’s the food so we gotta call it good.” Tony said standing up from the table to answer the door.

“You’re just mad you’re gonna lose.” Peter called out before placing his last card down onto the pile; a draw 2 card that would be directed at Tony due to the direction shift a few rounds before. “I mean you can play for second place if you want, but that’s just the first loser so you might as well accept your defeat here.”

“Alright kid I get it, you won.” Tony laughed bringing the paper bag full of take out over to the table. “I don’t know about you guys, but I’m hungry so we can rematch another time.”

With the three of them sitting at the table laughing over take out, Peter would say he was pretty happy with Tony being a new addition to their little family. He wasn’t sure where Tony and his mom’s relationship would end up, but he was happy for them and there was a bit of confidence inside of him that told him it would work out in the long run.

#peter parker #tony stark #pepper potts #Peter Parker is Pepper Potts biological son #tw: implied/referenced abuse #irondad #spiderson #Pepper Potts/Tony Stark #pepperony #the friendly neighborhood exchange

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p-artsypants · 4 years

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Integrity (Part 6)

Overwhelmed with her responsibilities, guilt, and drama, Marinette has an emotional breakdown in front of everyone, and even hands over her earrings in a moment of weakness. Only for a few seconds, but the damage was done. Adrien's pretty quick on the uptake like that.

Ao3 | FF.net

Thank you everyone for the wonderful reviews! Especially with the last chapter where I took a little creative license with Luka’s reaction. I felt like he had been so passive in every situation we had seen in the show, maybe this would be the point where he puts his foot down. Either way, I’m fortunate to have very kind and mature readers! Thank you!!

—

Returning to class, everything felt sort of surreal.

As Adrien and Marinette passed their classmates, instead of awkward smiles, they were greeted with hugs. But not quite in a friendly way. A hug that one would give another after they had been in a car accident, or some similar life-changing tragedy. They never said a word either, just a hug, and then they moved on.

However, it appeared that Lila never took the hint. She stayed completely delusional in the belief that the class was on her side.

In the classroom, she was fishing for attention. Marinette heard her asking around, “hey, do you want to hear about my vacation plans to Hawaii?” And, “oh during lunch I got a call from Jagged Stone! He heard about the whole thing and called to comfort me!”

No one took the bait. Not even a ‘maybe later’. Just cold hard silence.

By the time the school day came to an end, the classmates started to speak to each other, but it wasn’t ever anything more than school and homework related. Absolutely no gossip, nothing about media consumption, nothing.

It was almost as if all friendships had been reset to zero and everyone was reconsidering what they knew about each other.

Thankfully, Nino seemed pretty solid in his loyalty to Adrien. “Hey dude,” he asked softly after the last class of the day. In the silence of the room, he was still heard pretty clearly by everyone. “If you’re not going home, where are you staying right now?”

“Oh,” Adrien tried to keep his voice even quieter. “I’m actually staying with Marinette. Chat Noir thought she was safest.”

“Chat Noir said that? I wonder why?”

“He seems to have a good opinion of her.”

“We’ve talked.” Marinette clarified. “A few times. He’s stopped on my balcony during patrol and stuff.”

There was a scoff in the back of the room. “Really? He’s stopped by your house? You’re that chummy with Chat Noir?” Lila mocked.

Before Marinette could reply, the rest of the class groaned.

“Just shut up.” Alix barked back.

“Chat Noir had to protect Marinette while I was akumatized,” Nathaniel added. “It was on the Ladyblog too.”

“Oh, so now we’re taking all interviews on the Ladyblog as gospel?” Lila huffed, crossing her arms. “Hmm, sounds like favoritism to me.”

“Except Chat Noir corroborated Marinette’s story.” Alya added. “He praised her quick thinking. He’s mentioned her in high esteem a few times.”

“Fine. But did you ever ask Ladybug about our friendship?”

Alix moaned. “Are you still talking?”

Alya forged ahead. “No, I didn’t. But Adrien said this morning that Ladybug called you out in front of him.”

“Adrien and Marinette are both liars, and everything they say should be taken with a grain of salt.” Lila sneered.

Adrien clenched his fist, about to speak, but Marinette just stood from her seat. Calmly, she packed up her bag, and shouldered it. “If this is the hill you want to die on, be my guest. If there’s anything I’ve learned from our classmates, it's that if you call someone a liar, they’ll just think you’re jealous. So good luck with all that.”

Alya inhaled a quick breath, that Marinette ignored.

“You ready to go?” She asked Adrien.

“Absolutely.” He gathered his supplies and they rushed from the room.

Once outside, Adrien let out a sigh. “What a fatal last comment.”

“Ehh, I probably went too far. But I am still kind of salty about the whole thing. I’m ready to forgive and let my bitterness go, but I’d at least like an apology first.”

“I think they definitely owe you one.”

“Maybe I’ll get more on Monday. It felt like everyone was…kinda in shock all day.”

“No kidding.”

“Chloe surprised me. I’ve been…kind of hesitant to trust her again, but what she did for you today was really something.”

Adrien almost forgot he wasn’t supposed to know about Miracle Queen, since everyone in the city, including Alya, had been in a trance. There was no coverage of it anywhere. No one knew why the auxiliary heroes were all retired, and no one knew about the Miracle Box being taken. Thank God.

“I know Chloe’s a brat, but she’s…been getting better?”

Marinette shook her head, and spoke in code, since they were out in public. “She was. Honestly, I was really proud of her and how hard she was working to be a friend again. But…the reason I’m the guardian now, it’s kind of her fault. She was the akuma. But, she did it willingly. The big bad got a hold of the Jewelry Box and offered her the Comb if she worked with him. Him getting a hold of it was my mistake…but all the other friends were revealed because of her.” She paused for a moment. “I wonder why you weren’t summoned forward too, since you had the snake and all.”

“I was inside.” He clarified. “I saw the bees swarming out in the streets, so I stayed hunkered down in my room. I guess I didn’t realize at the time it was Chloe, but with bees and all...it makes sense.” He pursed his lips. “I didn’t notice Chloe acting much different. I wonder if her standing up for us was her trying to absolve herself.”

Marinette shrugged. “She’ll have to keep it up, I’m afraid. But I can’t give her the comb again. It’s just too dangerous.”

“It’s not your responsibility to fix people, Marinette. I know you want to, but Chloe is a damaged person. She will get better in time, but you gave her several chances. You can stop.”

Marinette let out a breath. “Yeah. You’re right. Thanks Adrien.”

“Anytime.”

Desperate for a change in topic as they reached the locker room, Marinette asked, “how’d it go with Kagami? You came back kinda late so I didn’t get the chance to ask.”

“Oh, it went good. Really good.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. She said she’s over me already. I suspect she’s lying...but we had a good talk. She’s on our side at least. She doesn’t believe I could molest anyone.”

“As she should.”

“She says she hopes to hang out with you again soon.”

“I wouldn’t mind but…I think it might be a little awkward for a while.”

“She said you’d say that too.” He laughed.

“Wow, she sure does have me pegged.”

Adrien wrestled his duffle out of his locker, slinging it over his shoulder.

“Is that everything you need?” Marinette asked. “Do you need me to get Ladybug to get anything else?”

“Nope,” he shrugged. “All of my earthly possessions are in here. At least, the things I can’t live without.”

“Do you need me to carry anything?”

“Nope, I got it.”

So they headed out, not running into any of their classmates. However, as they left the locker room, they could hear yelling coming from the second floor, where their class was.

“Well, it’s not an akuma.” Adrien said with a tiny smirk.

“Should we intervene?”

“No. I think we’ve had enough drama for the last two days.”

“Yeah…” Marinette breathed. “Speaking of drama…I spoke to Luka at lunch.”

“Oh? How’d that go?”

“Not good. Not good at all. He feels…like I wasted his time. He was upset.”

“Oh…”

“He thought that I was trying to get over you so that he and I could date, but that’s not exactly what happened. He thought his persistent pursuing me meant he was first in line to date me.”

Adrien winced. That’s kind of how Chat Noir had acted too. Boy, she would be pissed when she found out who he was. Maybe he shouldn’t tell her after all…

“So yeah, that’s how we left things. I’ve been kicked off the Kitty Section team indefinitely…”

“Oh Marinette…” Adrien cooed, resting a hand on her waist.

“Nope. Don’t talk to me like that, or I will cry.” She blinked rapidly. “I knew whatever I said would break his heart. But…I think if he had been gracious about it, I would have taken it harder. For him to react the way he did makes me feel like I dodged a bullet.”

“I know exactly how you feel. Trust me.” He tugged her close and gave her a little side squeeze.

The rest of the trip to the bakery was taken in silence as both teens were lost in their own thoughts. Both mulling over ‘what if’s of the future, and what was going to happen next.

Especially a very long conversation that had to happen.

At the bakery, Sabine greeted both of them with kisses to the cheeks. “Hello you two! How was school? Survive okay?”

“Survive is an apt word.” Marinette chuckled weakly. “Lila’s not going out without a fight.”

“Well, my offer still stands, if you need me to request a parent teacher conference, I will!”

“Thank you Mrs. Cheng,” Adrien stated, “but…my father threatened a lawsuit. If that doesn’t get her mother’s attention, I don’t know what will.”

“Oh my! She’s that bad? I just assumed it was rumors and gossip. A Lawsuit is quite serious!”

“Well, my father fired her yesterday after she left here. In order to save face, she accused me of sexual harassment.”

Sabine tutted. “That girl is a real piece of work. I’m sorry you’re both having to deal with this! Whatever you need, just ask!”

Adrien gave a weak smile. “Could I have an almond danish?”

Sabine laughed. “Oh sweetie, you didn’t need to ask.” She took one out of the case and handed it to him. “Now, I have to get back to work, but we can finish this conversation later. Adrien, Tom and I wake up very early, so we think it’s best if you stayed in Marinette’s room so we didn’t wake you up. You can behave yourselves, right?”

“Yes ma’am!” Adrien agreed a little too enthusiastically.

“Good, then scoot!” She shooed them out of the bakery.

“Are you okay with that, Marinette?” He asked. “Or are you afraid I’d sexually harass you in your sleep?”

“You touch me anyway I don’t approve, and you’ll be hanging from your ankles from the top of the Eiffel Tower.”

He snorted. “Noted!”

Adrien followed her silently upstairs into the apartment. Now that they were alone, he knew he had to tell her. He needed to say everything, so they could move forward and make a plan. As he took the steps up to her room, his hands began to sweat around the strap of his bag. Just do it. Just say it.

“You can set your bag here,” Marinette began. “The bathroom is across the hall from the living room, but you can keep your toothbrush here at my sink if you want. I’ll get some pillows and blankets—“

“I’m Chat Noir.”

He said it when she had her back turned, so he didn’t have to see her face. She continued to face away from him, her shoulders slowly tightening with anxiety, like a coil about to snap.

“I should have told you yesterday,” he continued, desperate to make sure she heard it all before she freaked out. “But you were so panicked with everything else, I just didn’t want to add to it. I didn’t want to hide from you, My Lady.”

She flinched, ducking her head slightly.

“I went home yesterday. My father greeted me at the door, and we talked about trust. He said he approved of you and I seeing each other, and he said he would remove Lila from my photoshoots. You know this. And then…he said he had something he wanted to trust me with.” He licked his lips, finding them unbearably dry. “He pressed some buttons on the painting of my mother, and this elevator lowered through the floor. At the bottom, there was this huge cavern I had never been in before. There was a bridge, and then a garden on the other side, and in a…it looked like a coffin, but I think it was a life support machine…my mother was there. She’s in a magical coma, from using the broken Peacock Miraculous. Dad revealed himself to be Hawkmoth, and he explained he wanted our Miraculous so he could use the ultimate power to wake her up.” He inhaled, his breath stuttering with faintly concealed sobs. “Then he asked me to help him. He had been using Lila as an akuma trigger, but since she was fired, he wanted me to take her place.”

“And what did you say?” Marinette’s voice was hollow and dull.

“I didn’t say anything. I was just in shock. He was crying and…I wanted to save my mother too. I know his method is wrong, and I can’t help but think the ultimate wish isn’t going to do what we want…”

“So Plagg stole the Miraculous while he was sleeping?”

“Yes. I thought about getting you, but I had to work quickly. I didn’t want to fight him. And after I gave them to you last night, I returned home, and he was waiting for me.”

“So he knows?”

“No. I had an alibi, but…he still drugged me and tore my room apart looking for them. I woke up at some point, disoriented and confused, and I attempted to fight him, that’s how I got my black eye.”

Finally, finally, Marinette turned around, showing the tear streaks running down her face. “I was so worried about you.” She whispered.

“Oh bugaboo…” He rushed to her, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her into a strong and solid hug. “I’m sorry. I just couldn’t risk getting caught. That’s why I left.”

“I understand, you did the right thing.” Her fingers dove into his hair, scratching at his scalp in a calming way. “I’m so proud of you, kitty.”

“Thank you, my lady.” He squeezed her. “And I am most certainly not disappointed in you for what happened. I know it was an accident, and I’m here to help you. I was worried about you, because I love you. I love you so so much, Marinette.”

She croaked out a sob and nuzzled her face into his shoulder. “I’m so glad it’s you. I’m sorry I kept breaking your heart, but I’m so glad it’s you! It was always you, the boy I loved. The boy I kept turning you down for…I’ve always loved you.”

“And now you know how I feel isn’t a celebrity thing,” he chuckled.

“I didn’t doubt you for a second.” She clutched his shirt. “You said you loved me even more since you found out who I was. I trust you, Adrien. With my life.”

He pulled away enough to look down at her. “This was the final loose end I had to tie up. Telling you who I am.” He reached a hand up, tracing the shell of her ear with his thumb, and letting it trail down to her jaw. “Marinette, would you marry me?”

She snorted, “what?”

“Sorry, I skipped a step. Would you like to be my girlfriend?”

“Wait, I didn’t get to say yes to your proposal!”

He laughed, gathering her tightly and spinning her around. “I love you, Marinette Dupain-Cheng! One day, I’ll make you mine!”

“I’ll hold you to that,” she giggled, elated and bursting at the seams with love. “You’ll have to get it approved by my parents first.”

“Your parents!” He gasped. “We should tell them! They might not be okay with me sleeping in here if they know! And I don’t want to get on my in-laws' bad side!”

“Adrien.” Marinette snickered. “It’s okay. We’ll tell them at dinner. And…” She glanced down. “I was thinking about telling them my identity.”

“Oh?” There was no judgement or caution in his tone, just plum curiosity.

“It was Tikki’s idea. Now that Hawkmoth isn’t a threat, maybe revealing myself would clear the air, you know, because of unexplained absences?”

“In that case, can I tell them too?”

“Uh, sure…why?”

He rubbed his arm. “I want adults that I can come to if I need help. My father isn’t that for me. One day, I’ll probably tell him the truth, but…Not now. I’m too scared.”

“Alright Kitty, we’ll tell them tonight at dinner. After all, we have to get their permission to go to Tibet this weekend.”

He raised an eyebrow. “That soon?”

“Sure! We have to talk to the guardians about how to save your mom after all.”

His face melted from giddy to astonished, as he beheld her. “You…you want to save my mom?”

“Of course Kitty! You love her, don’t you? If she can be saved, we should at least try.”

He opened and closed his mouth, fighting for words of gratitude. ‘Thank you’ wasn’t strong enough. It didn’t mean enough. ‘I love you’ was starting to sound repetitive. Emotion seeped out of him, drenching his cheeks with tears of joy of being in love and being so loved in return. It was overwhelming, but so welcomed. He couldn’t hold it back anymore.

He kissed her roughly, thoroughly, solidly. Hands wrapped around her, grabbing, tugging, caressing, bringing her closer and closer, until he could be all consumed with her, her scent, her taste. Her everything.

He took her bottom lip between his, sucking and teasing with his teeth, while he coyly tugged on her belt loop.

Then suddenly, they were tumbling, as her leg hit the edge of the settee and she lost balance. She landed with a little ‘oof’ right on the cushion, as he braced himself above her.

Her impossibly blue eyes stared up into his, before she burst into giggles. “Whoops.”

“Are you okay?”

“I’m fine, Kitty.”

“Good. Are you comfortable?��

“Yes? Why?”

“Because I’m not done with you yet,” and he returned to capture her lips again with an open mouthed kiss. He indulged for a moment, just before pulling away. “If that’s okay, My Lady?”

“Its alright, my Prince.”

His cheeks colored a little at the pet name. “I like that one.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah...” He finally closed the distance, his touch much more gentle, tender, and just savoring the moment.

“I love you.” He whispered between caresses. “I love you.”

“I love—“ she giggled as he cut her off over and over. “I love you! I love you!”

“Marinette! Adrien! Dinner’s ready!”

They pulled apart to look at each other before they started laughing all over again. “Did we just—?”

“Kiss for two hours?” Asked Plagg, with the dullest voice. “Yes. Yes you did.”

Tikki elbowed him. “Leave them alone Plagg. They’re in love!”

“Yeah,” said Adrien, sappily. “We’re in love...”

“Go to dinner!!”

#miraculous ladybug #ml #adrien agreste #marinette dupain cheng #adrienette #ladybug #chat noir #fanfiction #integrity

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marireadshellblazer · 3 years

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Hellblazer Issue #6

While I have read all of this before, I am trying to look at this, in some ways, like I am seeing it for the first time. I’m trying to bring out some of the initial, raw thoughts I had when I had read it the first time.

In keeping with the theme of showing the dark sides of society in these early chapters, it was only a matter of time before the subject of racism and white supremacy came up. This is such a tricky subject to approach no matter what medium is used (comics, novels, plays, TV, etc), and you could argue that it isn’t handled in the most…graceful manner. However, it is good that this is addressed in the series. These dark sides of humanity heavily characterize John’s world; parts of society that a lot of the more privileged members prefer to not see. For John, who sees the worst the world has to offer, these issues are all around him; loud, unavoidable, and heavily tainting even the brightest of moments. John is a cynical man, and it’s not hard to see why. Sadly, this is an all too real reflection of the real world.

I think that growing up the way he did and the area of London he lives in allows John to see a lot of the problems that the upper class (the snobs of the world) and most politicians choose to ignore and puts them front and center; hate crimes, crime just in general, poverty, prostitution/exploitation of women, and the effects this sort of environment has on the young people who can’t escape it. Now, I have never been to London, or Europe for that matter, so I’m not sure if this is just an exaggeration of what the area is like; Delano exaggerating the poverty situation in this area for story-telling purposes. Therefore, I’m not sure how accurate my assumptions are surrounding how “real” this portrayal is of the time this series takes place in. But, I did grow up in another big city; Chicago. And using what I know from life there, I can say that issues like these in certain neighborhoods and projects in and around big cities are very real and very hard to properly impress upon one who hasn’t experienced life there just how very dangerous and terrible they are.

When I left Chicago, I was stunned when I found out that, for people outside the city, gun violence and arson weren’t a normal part of life. Gang activity, using techniques to ward off pick pockets, and knowing which bakeries were fronts for drug smugglers weren’t common knowledge or part of everyday life. It honestly blew me away to see the reaction people had in the other parts of the Midwestern United States I have lived in when someone would go missing or get busted for using meth; the whole town would take it very personally. But for me I felt almost nothing; one person went missing here, but in Chicago, at least 4 people went missing, three died from a drive-by, and the mortician I’m friends with buried two bodies in one casket (one hidden below the other) in order to hide a murder victim who was taken out by the mob (I wish I was joking). So, suffice to say, as sad and disturbing a world John lives in, exaggerated or not, it feels strangely real to me. It’s in big cities like Chicago and London that I think racial violence gets particularly dangerous (don’t quote me on that. But the amount of people who die for being Hispanic/black in Chicago via gun is staggering). Big cities might be seen as colorful due to the mix of languages, ethnicities, and cultures, but it’s also because of this prejudice is often on full display. The more reasons there are to “other” people, the more people will find a way to do it. And it’s a terrible shame. I mean, there’s no reason for that crap. I mean, is it really so hard to at the very least be respectful to each other? SMH

So! That’s just a little bit on where I’m coming from/what’s effecting my reading experience! On to some thoughts!

Aight, well the comment about the Ralph Steadman painting, as it turns out, is not an exaggeration. I looked that shit up and, honestly, he’s not wrong.

I liked that they described creating corruption and as a demon’s real art. It helps hammer home that the corruption and darkness in the hearts of people are a demonic domain which brings the hellish reality in which John lives to life. Very nice.

I love that “weird sex attacks” is in the same line as suicides and cannibalism. Something about that made me double-take.

Nice Bob Dylan reference

Am I the only one that thinks Zed’s hair is weird? Era appropriate or not, I still think it’s weird.

Smooth John…very smooth.

I’m not going to lie, I snorted when I saw what Nergal did to those racists. There’s something poetic about forcing people who unwilling to have empathy and work with/understand others be unable to escape being together. Very nice descriptions of his process in creating the bigot-abomination. Also loving how Nergal is characterized here. He is truly gross. Just…the sewer demon orgy. I was not prepared for that, but I feel like I should have been.

When they show the abomination leaving the sewers, something about the writing there made me think of The Mob Song from the Disney version of Beauty and the Beast. Anyone else get that vibe?

Now, as far as John and Zed go, I’m not sure if I’d call them a couple. Seems inaccurate. Would this be more like FWB? I mean there is clearly trust there, but we don’t see a lot of depth beyond that. I mean, chemistry? I’m not sure how to say. Not saying it’s bad or anything, but nothing that says “they so cute” either. Maybe this was intentional.

I fucking love Ray. He is such a sweet man. Dude he just…he deserves better. He really does.

Also, once again, freaking love the cover art. 10/10.

Words I had to look up (also, for the derogatory words I include below I mean no offense; these were honest to God words that I didn’t know the meaning of and saw for the first time here. I figured, based on context, they were not good, but I didn’t really know the meaning. I wanted to share that part of my experience, so I included them here):

dole- benefit paid by the government to the unemployed (familiar with it, but never seen it in that context before so I was confused)

yid- derogatory word for a Jewish person

wog- derogatory word for anyone who is not white

fug- warm, stuffy or smoky atmosphere in a room (this is my new favorite word)

strewth- interjection, expresses surprise. I think it might be something akin to “fuck!”

#Hellblazer #Issue 6 #Thoughts #reading

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crystalgirl259 · 3 years

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Wolves Of Secrets Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Lone Wolf

Dark was the night as the full moon shined over the great city of Ninjago. The cold, misty wind whistled through the city as the citizens went about their own business, either going home to be with their families for the rest of the evening or to their evening jobs. The city of Ninjago was built on the sunny side of a gentle mountain and was truly a beautiful place. Its grace was only matched by the backdrop of lush, green forests which have helped shape the ancient city to what it was today.

The city had a very clear Japan, Tokyo feeling too it.

The city's skyline was growing with stylish skyscrapers and they each represented the many different aspects of the sizeable city. Businesses were booming in Ninjago and it had attracted a lot of attention. A few new cultures had left their mark not just on education, but also upon the city's identity. What historically was a city of predictability has grown into a new culture of variety and it's this that united the nearly 6 million people to this day.

It's this multicultural identity that had truly left its mark.

Hundreds of gastropubs, bakeries, and clubs offer a plethora of culinary choices. Those who felt hungry for something else could enjoy art galleries, musical activities, photography, or one of the many other recreational activities. Just outside the main city area, right on the edge of the dark forest, stood a large, lone house. In this house was a very special family. From the outside, this house looked cosy. It had been built many, many years ago with white bricks and had spruce wooden decorations.

Small, half-rounded windows added to the overall style of the house and had been added to the house in a fairly asymmetrical pattern.

The house was equipped with a large kitchen, two bathrooms, and three bedrooms. It also had a large living room, four bedrooms, a roomy dining room, a garage, and a large basement. The roof was high and slanted to one side and was covered with black ceramic tiles with a small chimney. Many smaller windows let in plenty of light to the rooms below the roof. The house itself was surrounded by quite a modest garden, with mostly grass, a few colourful flower patches, and a small shed at the other end of the garden.

Inside the house, a young teenage boy sat on the couch, eating popcorn and watching a movie.

This was Lloyd Garmadon. He had long, blonde tousled hair, and brown arched eyebrows with bright emerald green eyes that many people would state could sometimes glow in the dark. He wore a dark green jacket with a white t-shirt and black pants and black and dark green sneakers. As the clock was about to strike midnight, Lloyd was about to turn the boring movie off when suddenly with was a rustling sound outside. Fearing the worst, he quickly switched off the TV, grabbed his coat, and ran outside.

As soon as he stepped out into the cold night, however, instead of the rustling he had heard mere seconds before, all he could hear was an owl hooting nearby and the wind howling through the trees.

He was about to go back inside when all of a sudden he heard a loud crash from the other side of the house. He quickly ran towards the sound and was shocked by what he saw. He saw a full-grown, grey timber wolf sniffing around some turned over trash cans, snacking at the rancid chicken meat. He looked to the steel doors to the basement and was horrified to see another wolf attempting to jump out. As soon as the grey wolf sensed him, it slowing turned around to face the teen with a low growl, baring its sharp teeth.

Lloyd, however, was completely unfazed by this and he simply stood up straight.

"Get back inside!" He roared, startling the wolf for a second before it crouched down and started snarling louder. Instead of running away, however, Lloyd simply lowered onto his knees and bared his blunt teeth at the wolf. His emerald green eyes suddenly turned to a stunning gold that shined in the dark. The teen and the wolf snarled at each other as Lloyd slowly crawled forward, making the wolf back up. The grey wolf suddenly yelped as it fell back into the dark cellar.

Lloyd's eyes returned to their normal color as he stood up and looked into the dark pit.

Suddenly one of the wolves jumped up and bit into his thick coat's sleeve, ripping it off as the wolf fell back down. Not missing a beat, Lloyd quickly closed and locked the cellar doors, looking at the full moon as the wolves muffled howls sounding into the night...

****************

The next morning, as the rain came pouring down, Lloyd quickly got dressed and ran down to the cellar. He loudly slid the iron door open and stepped inside where he saw his mother Misako and his uncle Wu slowly getting to their feet as the finished getting dressed. His mother had ash grey hair braid into a ponytail with a snowy white streak and pale green eyes. She wore a pale khaki utility jacket with dark brown pants and a short, dark green scarf.

Wu was an elderly man with a long white beard.

He was wearing white robes and a conical straw hat. They both yawned and stretched as Lloyd glared daggers at them.

"I think that chicken was off." Misako gagged as she clutched her stomach.

"I can't believe you two." Lloyd glared Breaking out and raiding the bins."

"Oh, Lloyd!" She cried as she rushed forward and examined his arm. "I am so sorry! I didn't break the skin, did I?! Does it need stitches?!" She panicked, but he pulled his arm away from him.

"You always say how I have to stay hidden from humans and never give in to our wolves." He growled as they walked back upstairs to the kitchen. "Yet the moment you get a chance, you're out of the cellar and away!"

"You don't understand how powerful the pull of the full moon is," Wu explained. "When you're old enough to take wolf form-"

"I won't be a hypocrite, who says stay hidden and then breaks out at the first whiff of food!" He replied and turned to his mother with a slightly disgusted look. "And that chicken..."

"Actually, your mother's not the only one who's been eating things she shouldn't, is she?" Wu frowned as he opened the trash can to reveal the leftover popcorn.

"Yes, and you were still dressed when you came outside, young man." Smiled Misako when her son froze. "Didn't we agree in bed at 10 on school nights?"

"I'm going to miss the bus." He quickly said and ran for the front door. When he made to grab his coat, however, he let out a long sighed when he saw the missing sleeve...

****************

Lloyd blushed furiously as he kept his eyes on the school floor as the other students stared and laughed at his soaked clothes. He let out a small growl as he shivered; his mother owed him a new coat.

"Hey, Lloyd!" A voice called out and he looked up to see his friends Zane Jullien, Jay Walker, Kai Smith, Nya Smith, and Cole Brookstone stood by their lockers, waiting for him.

Jay reddish-brown curly hair with brown eyebrows and light freckles with dark blue eyes. He wore a blue jacket with a white stripe over a white t-shirt and blue pants with an orange wooly scarf.

Zane had platinum blonde, almost white, hair that stood up straight in something like a crew cut and bright icy blue eyes. He wore white pants and shoes with a long-sleeved, cyan blue shirt under a navy blue knitted vest.

Kai had tall, thick spiky brown hair, shaped like fire and bright amber eyes that shined like burning embers. He had a focused expression on his face, with a scar visible on his right eyebrow and bandage above his left. He wore a red half-zipped-up jacket over a white shirt with some kind of Japanese symbol on the back of the jacket and brown pants.

Nya was Kai's younger sister who had long black hair kept in a ponytail, pale pink lipstick, small dimples on her cheeks with dark brown eyes, and she had a beauty mark on her right cheek. She was wearing a leather jacket over a white shirt with blue stripes and dark blue torn jeans.

Cole had a very muscular body, being the strongest kid in the whole school, with long, shaggy black hair and bushy eyebrows with very dark green eyes that reminded Lloyd of cold emerald stones. He wore a black leather jacket and pants with a dark brown tank top and black heavy-duty boots.

Lloyd smiled as he walked over to them. They were the only people who could possibly understand the struggles he faced every day as a teenage werewolf; because so were they. Well... sort of anyway. Only he and Nya had yet to transform on a full moon, but they knew it could happen any month now and they were both nervous and excited.

"What happened to you?" Jay asked when they saw he was dripping water into the hallways.

"My coat got eaten by werewolves." He deadpanned.

"Don't you start too." Kai groaned.

"We've already had this from... Oh, Pixel!" Nya suddenly smiled as the said girl walked over to them. Pixel had pale, almost white, skin with wide lips and bright green eyes. Her hair was styled like Nya's and was a very light platinum blonde. She had a purple dress with red details and an opening in her left arm that showed a part of her chest, and red heels. Lloyd simply smiled and rolled his eyes. Pixel Borg was the only one in their friend group that wasn't a werewolf.

She was a very good friend to them, mostly to Zane, since childhood and it hurt them they couldn't share their secret with her.

"Did you hear last night in the forest?" She asked with a big smile on her face, but they all shrugged. "Howling." She replied and they froze as she pulled out her cell phone. "Here, look what I found on Carper's Lane this morning." She explained as she showed them a picture of a paw print in the mud. "I'm going to compare it to paw-print photos of different dogs."

"What, every type of dog?" Cole scoffed.

"This is proof." She insisted. "Proof that there's something weird over there in the forest."

"Pix, if your father found out that you snuck off into the forest in the middle of the night again he wouldn't be too pleased," Zane warned.

"If I can prove there is some kind of undiscovered creature in the forest then that alone would guarantee my scholarship into Horizon Academy."

"You know your father could pull some strings and get you in there no problem." Jay pointed out.

"I know, but I want to earn my spot and my father understands and respects that." She explained.

"Hey, Pixel!" One of the cheerleaders, Maggie, suddenly called out. "I saw something weird in the forest, you!"

"Haven't you got hair-curlers to play with or something?" Nya snapped before she and her friends quickly walked away.

"I really need to start my research, I'll catch up with you all later." Pixel smiled before she made a beeline for the library; as soon as she was out of sight, Nya suddenly grabbed the boys and shoved them into a nearby janitor's closet.

"Alright, who was it?" She glared.

"Wasn't me!" Jay exclaimed fearfully and the rest quickly denied it as well. Lloyd eyed each of them carefully. It could only have been Cole, Kai, or Zane; they were the only ones who spent the full moon on Zane's father's property deep in the forest. Since she couldn't transform yet Nya stayed in their apartment in the city and Jay spent it on her parents' junkyard on the other side of the city. The only problem was that Dr. Jullien's home was far from where Pixel said she found the paw prints.

He also knew the guys wouldn't go near the city, full moon or not.

"Maybe it wasn't one of us," Lloyd suggested. "My mom managed to get out the cellar last night and when I got them back in they started howling, and that paw print could have come from a normal dog."

"I suppose." She sighed when the bell suddenly rang; the group sighed as they made their way to their first classes. Lloyd quickly ran to his locker to get some of his textbooks when he suddenly caught the scent of something odd. It was a new scent, meaning whoever it belonged to was here very recently. He was about to follow the scent when he walked right into one of his teachers, Miss Koko. She had bright orange hair with amber eyes.

She wore orange lipstick and a pale brown suit.

"Lloyd, what are you doing? It's time for class." She ordered and Lloyd quickly scurried to his first class, making a mental note to investigate the scent later...

****************

As soon as Lloyd ran into the classroom he immediately took his seat next to Jay. This was one of the few classes he and all his friends had together. As soon as he took his seat a teacher he hadn't seen before walked in with a big smile on his face.

She had greying brown hair tied in a bun and a dark blue dress.

"Welcome aboard students! My name is Ms. Laudita and I'm your new Social Studies teacher," She smiled as a student stepped into the room. "Everyone! This is Morro Ren, he's new here so I hope you'll all make sure he feels welcome." She explained and Lloyd was suddenly hit with the same smell from before. He looked up and saw the new kid eyeing them all cautiously. Lloyd quickly looked to the others and saw they had realized the same thing as him.

Morro Ren possessed long jet black hair with a dark green streak dyed in it and dark brown eyes.

He was wearing a pale green shirt with torn brown pants and black boots. As he moved to take a seat at the back of the class, he and Lloyd glared each other down without a word. The class continued as normal until the bell rang and Morro all but ran out, Lloyd and the others following close behind. As soon as Morro stepped into an empty stairwell Kai and Cole blocked his path.

"What are you doing here?" Nya growled.

"What?" The new kid asked, confusion clear on his face. "I'm looking for-

"No, here! On our territory!" Jay exclaimed.

"Do you not know the rules?" Zane asked.

"You can't stay here." Kai huffed.

"If my mom and uncle get a sniff of you-"

"I don't even know you!" Morro snapped as he took deep breaths.

"Exactly!" Lloyd exclaimed in frustration.

"I don't care whose territory this is; I'm not sticking around anyway, and why would I in this dump?" He sarcastically asked. "No smelly brats tell me whether to stay or go." He stated before shoving passed Kai and Cole and running down the stairs...

****************

Later that day everyone was sat at their usual table in the cafeteria, enjoying their lunches. When Pixel and Dareth had joined them, Zane had explained what had happened with Morro when Pixel asked why they were all in a sour mood; leaving out some key details of course.

"We're not smelly!" Cole hissed angrily as he devoured a large slice of cake.

"Well, except for Jay." Kai shrugged absently, getting a hurt cry from the said boy and a kick from Nya.

"You did kind of start it." Pointed out Pixel.

"No, we didn't." Nya defended.

"Someone must know something about him or his family." Suggested Zane. "Seen moving vans, something." He added as a member of Kai's soccer team, Chad, walked over to their table.

"Hey, Kai, are you going to ask the new kid to try out?" He asked though it sounded more like an order.

"I don't think he's the right sort for the team." He replied, keeping his eyes on his food.

"Fine, I'll ask." Chad huffed and walked over to Morro's empty table.

"Wait." Cole gasped but it was too late.

"Relax guys, he won't bite." Pixel frowned at their behavior and the group shared nervous looks. They turned back to Chad and Morro when the new kid suddenly got up and right into a startled Chad's face.

"I don't like soccer and I don't want to hang around with you and your weirdo friend! You got that?!" He roared, sending a pointed look at Kai and everyone sat at the table.

"Obviously, they don't teach manners where he's from." Nya glared as Chad speed walked over to them on shaking legs.

"Next time, you need to approach the weird kid." He hissed to Kai as the cheerleaders suddenly pushed passed them and over to Morro's table, completely looking over the way he had just spoken to Chad. Before the new kid could escape, a blonde cheerleader named Harumi Jade took a seat next to him and practically curled around his arm, much to his disgust. Harumi had long white hair with long bangs fashioned in a bun with chopsticks.

She wore a green jacket with matching pants, a white shirt with red lotus flowers, and full lips painted red.

"Hey cutie, since you've only just got here the principle thought it would be a good idea for someone to show you around, and we know everything about this school; all the best clubs and people to hang out with." She explained as she flashed him a big smile.

"Those weird kids, who're they?" He asked as he pointed over to Lloyd's table, where they were still watching him.

"Oh, that's just Lloyd Garmaddon, Pixel Borg, Zane Jullien, Jay Walker, Kai Smith, Nya Smith, and Cole Brookstone." One of the cheerleaders happily said, only to cower away at Harumi's glare.

"Their families have lived here for centuries." She quickly dismissed. "Never leave the area, don't like strangers or questions."

"They're all cuckoo!" Another cheerleader added.

"What are we talking about them for? Let's talk about you." Harumi smiled as she leaned closer, only to gasp when Morro suddenly stood up, grabbed his bag, and stormed off, leaving a furious Harumi and a dumbfounded Lloyd behind...

****************

After an awkward lunch, with Harumi and Chad and their groups giving them the stink eye, Lloyd and the others finally had had enough and went to their lockers to get their stuff for their next class.

"Are you guys joining us on Miss Jinro's forest stakeout?" Zane asked hopefully.

"It's open to anyone but is part of the ninth grade syllabus so all freshmen have to go," Pixel added with a smile. The others just rolled their eyes and chuckled, only to stop when Cole suddenly froze right in front of them. They looked over the taller teen's shoulder and were irritated to see Morro looking through his own locker from something.

That wouldn't have been a problem if it wasn't for the fact that his locker was right next to theirs.

Before they could do anything, however, Chad and his gang pushed them and 'accidentally' knocked into Morro, causing him to drop his bag and pieces of vegetables to come flying out. To say he was still sore about what Morro did in the cafeteria was an understatement.

"I thought I smelled something funny," Chad smirked as his gang laughed. "Is that your snack, freak?"

"Piss off," Morro growled. Unfortunately, this only made Chad angrier as he marched over to the new kid and violently shoved him into the lockers.

"Got a problem?!" He challenged, failing to see the veins on Morro's hands darkening as he bared his teeth. Before anyone could even blink, Morro suddenly jumped up, almost as high as the lockers, and pounced on the bully, sending them both to the ground. Feeling their stomachs dropping, Lloyd and his friends didn't miss a beat as they ran to stop the fight before any serious damage was done.

Kai and Cole managed to rip a snarling Morro off Chad while Pixel and Jay checked on the jock to make sure he was uninjured.

Quickly, Nya and Lloyd pushed the new kid into an empty art classroom just as Miss. Koko burst through the crowd of onlookers.

"What on Earth is going on here?" She glared as Zane, Cole, and Kai leaned against the door to the classroom, and Jay and Pixel helped Chad to his feet. Meanwhile, in the classroom, Nya and Lloyd mirrored their friends leaning against the door as Morro curled up on the ground, gasping for breath.

"What are you doing?" He cried out between breaths. "Get out!"

"Just breathe." Lloyd tried to reassure but Morro started growling as he backed further away.

"You have to get out!" He screamed as the veins in his face and neck started turning dark and his brown eyes turning a stunning yellow. Realizing it was too late now, Morro slowly looked up at them with a defeated look in his eyes. "I'm so sorry." He whimpered before he erupted into growls. Nya and Lloyd could only watch as his body shrunk and rearranged itself.

His clothes fell off his body as his skin was replaced with thick dark brown fur.

His face stretched out into a muzzle as his blunt human teeth sharpened. Once it was over, Morro slowly stood back up, but instead of a human, a full-grown timber wolf looked back at them. He snarled at the two teenagers before he suddenly started running around the room and on the tables, knocking several art supplies onto the floor.

"Morro!" Nya shouted and the wolf jumped down and snarled at them again.

Slowly, both teens knelt down to the floor with their heads down; when they did raise their heads they revealed their own bright yellow eyes, causing the wolf to freeze. He stared at them for a few moments before relaxing and lying down on the floor. Unfortunately, things weren't going so well outside the classroom for the others.

"He's crazy!" Chad cried as he finished telling his side of the story to Koko.

"You started it!" Pixel exclaimed.

"And where is Morro?" She asked but everyone just shrugged and looked around, still leaning against the door. "I'll catch up with him later; you two, follow me." She sighed as she led Pixel, Chad, and his group away. The friends waited until the crowd of students finally disappeared before they quickly ran into the classroom; only to find a human Morro putting his shirt on as Nya and Lloyd picked up all the items he had knocked over.

"I knew there was something about you guys." Morro smiled like a child on Christmas Day. "It's true, isn't it? You're all like me!"

"We're not like you!" Cole quickly said, a look of rage on his face, causing Morro's smile to drop.

"Yeah, we don't show off and pick fights and invades other packs' territory." Kai hissed.

"You're a danger to us all and the sooner you leave, the better," Nya added when all of a sudden the door to the classroom opened and one of the teachers walked in, only to freeze when he saw the state of the classroom.

"What happened here?" The teacher asked in shock. Morro simply huffed in annoyance as he pushed passed the stunned teacher and stormed down the hall and out of sight. They just let him go. Lloyd wanted to chase after him but he knew the others were right; Morro didn't belong here...

****************

After school, the gang went to their favorite hangout, the Yin & Yang Bistro, to gather their thoughts. They would have gone to Wu's tea shop, Steep Wisdom, but they didn't want Lloyd's uncle to listen in on their conversation. Alas, instead of a quiet place for them to discuss what they had witnessed as they had hoped, the gang had to watch as Miss Jinro's forest stakeout class met at the cafe to prepare.

"Apologies, students." She sighed as the class started to get impatient. "We're waiting for the last few stragglers to show and then we go."

"Ya've got five more minutes unless yer buying somethin'" The cafe owner, Mr. Burke, grumbled from the counter.

"I still think we should tell someone, you know," Jay whispered.

"Yeah, let's tell Mom and Uncle Wu that a strange werewolf just showed up at our school and trashed a classroom after trying to attack a student." Lloyd laughed bitterly.

"To be fair who hasn't wanted to kick Chad's ass." Kai snicked, only to yelp when his sister kicked him under the table.

"This isn't a joke Kai." She hissed as Pixel and Zane walked over to them.

"Are you coming to the forest walk too?" Zane kindly asked.

"Pass," Cole said as the rest scrambled for excuses. Just when they thought their day couldn't get any worse, however, Harumi and her army of cheerleaders suddenly walked in and scanned the room.

"Hey, Burke, has Morro been here?" She asked sweetly.

"Who?"

"He's this tall and dreamy and he beat the crap out of Chad."

"Ah, the Dobsons' new foster kid." Burke laughed and the gang paled.

"M-Morro's in foster care?" Zane asked.

"Yeah, must have been a bad boy ta get moved all tha way up here for a fresh start."

"He's an orphan?" Cole gasped as a look of shame on his face, hard with the others.

"Most foster children have parents somewhere." Pixel stated. "He was probably moved up by Social Services so he to get away from them." She added and Lloyd's stomach dropped in horror. Morro was probably all alone in the world, stuck in a strange place, with no-one to turn to; trying to make it in the world all alone and he and when he does meet another one of his own kind they reject him. Before anyone could say another word, Lloyd, Cole, Jay, and Kai ran out of the bistro, leaving everyone in a stunned and confused silence...

****************

The four teenage boys spent the better part of half an hour tracking the new kid all over the entire city until they followed his scent to the forest at the edge of the city. The giant forest was tremendous, gloomy, and lush. Its canopy was ruled by willow, oak, walnut, and cottonwood, who let through enough dancing beams of sunshine for a hodgepodge of sprouts to rule the insect riddled soils below. Many people were too scared to enter.

Only nature lovers, hikers, and the occasional dog walker ever went in the forest.

Coiling branches clung to many a tree, and a potpourri of flowers, which desperately tried to avoid the shadows, spruced up the otherwise homogeneous scenery. A mixture of beastly sounds, most belonged to foraging animals, added life to the forest, and were out of sync with the sound of the wind blowing gently through the forest. Many normal humans had gotten lost in the dense green world, but Lloyd and the others knew this place like the back of their hands.

They decided to split up, hoping to cover more ground.

Jay and Lloyd went to search closer to the road while Cole and Kai went deeper into the forest. As they walked along the empty road, Lloyd suddenly grabbed his friend's arm and pointed further up the road where they saw Morro Ren walking along the edge of the road, his head down. They knew must have smelled or heard them, so he was simply ignoring them.

"Morro!" Lloyd shouted as they ran to catch up to him.

"Don't worry, I'm out of here." He growled, still looking at his feet as he picked up the pace.

"Please don't! We're sorry, don't go, we can help you." Jay pleaded.

"Help?" He scoffed. "I've had help; counseling and other stupid shit."

"You need to learn to control your wolf self before someone gets hurt... probably you," Lloyd explained, only for them both to jump when Morro suddenly turned around and glared daggers at them

"You're just like the rest of them!" He snarled.

"We know about the Dobsons," Jay replied in a trembling voice. "We know you're alone."

"So?"

"We're like you, you saw that." Lloyd tried to reassure, only for the new kid to shove them away.

"You might like me, you think the same as them!" He snapped. "You're just trying to make me better; but, you know what? What I am, what I turn into, that is way better!" He roared with a big grin on his face. "It's better than anything I've ever known and I'm not letting anyone take that away from me!"

"We're not gonna let you do this," Lloyd warned.

"Go ahead, stop me!" He jeered with a cruel laugh. "Use your wolfy powers and see how long it takes for someone to find out what you are; because no one at school knows your little secret, do they?" He asked and they looked away, their thoughts drifting to Pixel for a brief second. "I thought not; I've got nothing to lose here, unlike you." He smirked before taking off into the forest at full speed.

"Hey!" Jay cried as they chased after him.

"Stop!" Lloyd called as he disappeared into the trees. If they hadn't been werewolves Lloyd and Jay might have lost him, if not for their incredible sense of smell, or Morro's cheap cologne. They quickly tracked him down and before the smug kid could even blink he was tackled by them both. They all cried out and grunted as they rolled down the hill and crashed into the dirt trail. After they managed to untangle themselves, Lloyd was shocked to see Pixel and Zane standing in the middle of the trail with Miss Jinro's forest stakeout class.

Seconds later Kai and Cole came running over the hill and into the awkward tension.

"Sorry, we're late, everyone." Kai weakly chuckled. "Seen any squirrels yet?"

"No, you lot have scared off every animal for miles." Miss Jinro glared before turning to the group of students. "I'm sorry, everyone, we'll have to come back another day." She sighed as they walked away, leaving the gang, Pixel, and Morro alone. As soon as the teacher and class were gone, Pixel glared and advanced towards the group of boys.

"Well done, guys! This was something important to me and Zane." She snapped.

"There's something important we have to do." Cole tried to explain.

"Like what?"

"Morro is more important than any club." Lloyd glared. "The thing is... Morro and I... are related?" He quickly lied, shocking everyone. "Distant cousins; he's the black sheep of the family, and I didn't want him here, so I treated him badly, which is why he lashed out and trashed the classroom."

"We don't have to be best friends, but Morro's here now," Zane added.

"OK." Jay smiled.

"Sure." Pixel sighed.

"Welcome to Ninjago." Cole smiled as he gave the new kid a firm handshake.

"You really don't like soccer?" Kai suddenly asked. Everyone stared at him for a few seconds before they all burst out laughing, Morro included...

****************

Later that evening, as the sun was starting to set, casting it's beautiful orange and shadows among the forest, instead of going home with Zane and Pixel, Lloyd and the others stayed in the forest to have a talk with Morro. There were things they needed to sort out.

"So... where you from?" Kai asked.

"My parents used to live in Stiix; they... they died when I was two," Morro mumbled, his eyes fixed at the rustling branches of the trees.

"And nobody knows what you are?" Cole asked in shock and awe when he shook his head.

"So, what did you do for the full moon last night?" Jay asked.

"I couldn't stay in my bedroom, could I?" He scoffed. "I climbed out of my window and made for the forests."

"So it was your paw-print that Pixel found!" Lloyd gasped; none of them would have been nieve enough walk so close to the city in wolf form.

"Was it your first full moon change?" Asked Cole sympathetically, knowing how scared he was for his first full moon transformation.

"Second." He replied. "The first got me kicked out of my last foster home."

"What happened?" Jay asked.

"Don't know." He shrugged. "I went to bed and woke up in a ditch naked; turns out I trashed my bedroom, so they kicked me out." He mumbled before clearing his throat and straightening up. "Anyway, what about you? I mean, full moons must be epic out here."

"Yeah, they're pretty cool." Cole shrugged.

"Well, I and Nya haven't started transforming yet." Lloyd sighed.

"So, I know more about this stuff than you do?" He laughed.

"Yeah, you're the expert." Kai laughed. "That's why you lost it with Chad in front of half the school."

"I didn't know that could happen." Morro glared. "I only thought werewolves went hairy at the full moon."

"We feel the urge to change when we feel threatened or angry too," Jay explained. "Learn to control it, and you can transform whenever you want."

"How do you know all this stuff?"

"Our parents tell us." Kai shrugged and Morro's eyes grew to the size of saucers.

"You have parents like us?" He cried.

"Well, sort of." Lloyd winced and turned the others, who all gave their nods of approval. "I live with my Mom and uncle who are like us, Kai lives his sister and his parents are werewolves too but they're usually out of town on business, Cole lives with his dad but Lou's human, Zane lives with his dad who's one of us and Jay lives with his parents, but they're both humans."

"I'm adopted but they know what I am and they don't care." Jay quickly added when he saw Morro's confused look.

"We were all born this way, you're normal." Lloyd smiled. "Everything you thought made you a freak: sight, hearing, speed, sense of smell, they're all completely normal for a werewolf; if you stay you'd have a pack, at last, people to teach you."

"So, say I did stick around, only for a bit, no promises." He quickly said when he saw the hopeful looks on their faces. "No rules, no lectures, you can keep your group hugs and your big, furry family, I'll do things my way."

"A lone wolf, huh?" Kai smirked. "I think you and I are gonna get on great."

"Next time you lose control over your wolf self, what happens then?" Cole asked.

"Well, that'll be an interesting day, won't it?" Morro smirked as he got up and walked away. Lloyd and the others shared a nervous look, worrying about what the new day would bring...

#ninjago #ninjago fanfiction #ninjago kai #ninjago nya #ninjago lloyd #ninjago zane #ninjago cole #ninjago morro #sensei wu #werewolves

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insincerelycrowley · 4 years

Text

Setting The Alarm Clock

Summary: Crowley has finally woken up from his Lockdown nap, only to find that something very strange has been happening in his flat.

Word Count: 1980

Warnings: N/A

A/N: My contribution to to #AwakeTheSnake

Crowley hated mornings. So, it was particularly irritating that it happened to be a morning when he woke from his nap. At least, he thought it was morning, judging from the noise of birds nesting outside his window – annoying little buggers.

Crowley was just about to roll over and check what time (month?) it was, when he noticed something…odd. There was a strange smell to his flat. It almost smelled like someone had been - baking? That couldn’t be right though, could it?

Finally opening his eyes and levering himself out of bed, Crowley found that the smell was just the start of some unusual occurrences. Taking a good look around his bedroom he saw…almost nothing. All his furniture and belongings were gone apart from the bed and the bedside table. The table itself held nothing but his phone and a glass of water (which had not been there before he went to sleep).

Confusion mounting, Crowley left his bedroom, and promptly tripped over a pile of boxes left just outside the doorway. This was another thing that had definitely not been there before his nap. Peaking inside the box at the top of the pile, he saw that it was filled with some of the smaller items from his office. His globe, various astronomy books, and his prized sketch of the Mona Lisa were all stashed away inside. Something weird was going on here.

Intending to check his office for himself, Crowley stopped as he passed his plant room. Something was wrong. There was a distinct lack of fear coming from inside. Peeking into the room, he was horrified to find that it had been completely cleared out. There was nothing left but a few (still pristine) leaves on the floor. Something that felt a lot like anger clenched in his gut at the sight.

Pushing away from the door, Crowley entered his office and felt the clench in his stomach grow tighter. His throne was gone. Someone had taken his throne. If he was angry before, he was furious now. Gritting his teeth Crowley stomped back out of the office, and immediately doubled back when he noticed yet another empty space from the corner of his eye. Staring at the bare hallway floor where his statue of good and evil…wrestling…had once been, Crowley found himself thoroughly perplexed at how anyone had managed to get something like that out of the building without him noticing.

He was broken out of his confused musings by the sound of humming originating from his kitchen (absently he noted that it resembled Beethoven’s Symphony no. 6). Snarling and just barely resisting the urge to summon hellfire, Crowley went to confront whoever had invited themselves into his flat.

Striding into the room with as much swagger as a demon in silk pyjamas could muster, Crowley’s eyes widened when he found almost every available surface covered in cake. Looking around what had once been his kitchen, his gaze landed on the figure facing the oven.

“Angel?”

Aziraphale jolted at the sound and turned around. Catching sight of Crowley, he broke into a brilliant smile that made the demon’s heart stutter in his chest.

“Crowley! Oh, my dear I’m so glad you’re finally awake!”

Crowley stared for a moment, willing his brain to switch back online. He tried desperately to make sense of the scene in front of him, but after a few moments had to admit defeat and ask “Angel, what’s going on?”

Aziraphale’s smile only seemed to get brighter.

“Well I did tell you I’d taken up baking before you went to sleep dear.” Seeming to notice the state of the kitchen he chuckled and added “although I admit, I may have gotten a little carried away.”

Crowley blinked. “Yes, I can see that, but what are you doing here?”

Aziraphale seemed unfazed by the question.

“Oh, of course – well, it occurred to me that you’ve acquired a lovely collection of plants over the years. I was dreadfully concerned about what would happen to them in your absence, so I just popped in to check on the poor dears. I fully intended to go straight back to the bookshop when I was done, but…”

“But?”

The angel fidgeted slightly. “I may have become a little distracted, and never actually got around to leaving…”

Crowley fought hard to push aside the warmth blossoming in his chest. “So, you’ve just been living here while I was asleep then?”

“For the most part, yes. I have been out once or twice to attend to some important business, but I’ve always seemed to find my way back here.”

“I thought you said visiting was against the rules?”

“It was! The rules have been somewhat relaxed now. Households can meet under certain circumstances…and…I got worried when you didn’t call. I had to make sure you were safe.”

There was that warmth again, it was harder to push aside this time. Crowley sniffed and tried to appear nonchalant. “I left you a message.”

“I know, but I had to make sure – if only for my own peace of mind. However, once I was here, I couldn’t bear the thought of leaving you. I didn’t want you to be alone.”

Crowley felt a lump come to his throat. As he was trying to swallow past it, a thought suddenly occurred to him. “Wait – did you pack all my things?”

Aziraphale smiled and nodded. “Yes, of course.”

Crowley blinked again. The angel admitted it so easily, as though turning up to someone else’s flat and packing up all their belonging while they slept was a perfectly reasonable thing to do. “I-I’m gonna regret asking but –”

“Well I didn’t exactly know how long you would be asleep for dearest. I thought it best to just make a start and hope everything would be ready for when you woke up.”

Crowley had the impression he was missing a vital piece of information. “What – Angel, what on earth are you talking about?”

Aziraphale seemed to consider his answer for a moment. “While you were asleep, I started thinking about how there’s still so much that can keep us separated. This lockdown is just the latest in a long list. I know we’ve been apart before, and this shouldn’t be any different – but it is different now Crowley. I want it to be different now.”

“Different how?” The words felt heavy on Crowley’s tongue.

Aziraphale smiled. “The solution is obvious when you think about it my dear. After all, no one could ever object to us seeing each other if we lived together, now could they?”

The angel looked immensely proud of himself as he finished speaking. Meanwhile Crowley was having an extraordinarily hard time processing what had been said. He let out a string of cut-off noises before finally forcing out “So, what? You’re planning on moving me into the bookshop then?”

Aziraphale scoffed. “Of course I’m not moving you into the bookshop my dear – the living space is much too cramped for both of us. No dearest, the bookshop wouldn’t work at all I’m afraid. Although I’m not sure that I can bare to part with it completely…no, I think I’ll keep hold of it as extra storage for my collection. Oh, and it would be awfully convenient for us to have somewhere to stay for night or two on the occasions we come back to London. You should certainly have the option of not driving back straight away if it’s late. Of course I suppose we could just as well stay here on those occasions – if you want to keep hold of the flat that is.”

Crowley felt like he and Aziraphale were having two vastly different conversations, but he was making a valiant effort to piece them together. “Whoa, Whoa, Angel slow down – what do mean when we visit London? And If I keep hold of this place? I’m trying to keep up here, really I am, but you’re gonna have to help me out a little.”

“Well I just thought that we’d need a little more space, and it might be nice to get out of the city – go somewhere quieter. Here.”

Aziraphale produced a travel agents’ brochure from underneath a plate of scones. Flicking the brochure open, he turned it towards Crowley, showing him an advertisement for a beautiful cottage. Voice brimming with enthusiasm, Aziraphale continued. “It has a garden, and plenty of space for my most treasured books - the view is simply breath-taking! It’s just down the road from the most delightful little bakery! Oh, and it’s close to a valley called Devil’s Dyke – I thought you would appreciate that.” He gave Crowley a wry smile.

Opening and closing his mouth a few times Crowley tried again to grasp where the angel was going with this. “Angel – I still have absolutely no idea what you’re talking about. Why are you showing me pictures of a cottage?”

“Well because it’s ours of course!”

“What do you mean it’s ours?”

“I bought it.”

“You – you bought a cottage?”

“Well – yes.”

“For us?”

“Yes.”

“To live in – together?”

“Yes, obviously to live in together Crowley, I wouldn’t buy a cottage just for myself, now would I?”

Crowley was silent for a long time, just staring at Aziraphale. Long enough that Aziraphale’s smile faded and he began to fidget under the scrutiny.

“You’re not happy.” The angel stated bluntly. “I knew I should have waited – and I definitely should have asked before just packing up your belongings! I had no right to do that. I shouldn’t have just assumed you would want the same thing. I’m so sorry…I-I just got excited, and I fear I’ve gotten rather carried away…”

“Angel, Angel, stop – I didn’t say I wasn’t happy, did I?”

Aziraphale wrung his hands together. “You’re not upset with me?”

“Of course I’m not – I’m just…. surprised. It was a surprise, that’s all.”

The angel hesitated for a moment before venturing “a good one?”

Crowley smiled softly. “The very best.”

Aziraphale visibly sagged in relief. He smiled at the demon before jolting upright with a sudden realisation. “Oh! I completely forgot – you’ve only just woken up. You must be hungry. Sit down and I’ll get you some cake.”

“I’m fine Angel.” Crowley tried to protest, but Aziraphale was already ushering him to sit at the breakfast bar.

“Nonsense – you’ve been asleep for months; you may be a demon, but you still need to eat something.” Aziraphale said placing a slice of sponge cake and a cup of coffee next to him. Crowley instantly lifted the cup to his lips to hide the ridiculous smile forming there at the Angel’s fussing.

“So, when did you want to move in?” The demon asked.

Aziraphale froze for a moment. “You’re sure Crowley? You’re not just indulging me? Because if you need more time…”

“I’m sure Angel, there’s nothing to think about. Just say when and we’ll go.”

Aziraphale lit up at immediately. “We can go whenever we want. I’ve been popping out to the cottage whenever I can to get it ready and move things over – there’s barely anything left to do. We could go now if we wanted!”

Crowley chuckled – “Well maybe we can wait until after breakfast, but if you want to go today then we will.” He paused. “So, go on then – I know you’re just dying to tell me all about it down to which curtains you’ve picked out.” He teased.

Aziraphale was all too happy to comply, and launched into excited chatter about their cottage as the demon felt the smile he’d been holding back break free.

Crowley didn’t need to see the cottage to know that it would be perfect. Anywhere the angel picked out for them would have been. The building and the location didn’t matter, Crowley’s home had always been Aziraphale.

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