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goldenlaurelleaveswrites · 2 years

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The Weight of the Mask ch 9

Stormy Weather ii

The Weight of the Mask (AO3)

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She was fine.

The words ricocheted through his mind, colliding with the images of a memory he had undone. Sass watched him with a heavy gaze as he ate; the kwami looked like he wanted to say something. But time was of the essence.

The sooner this akuma was dealt with, the better.

As soon as Sass finished eating and confirmed he was ready, he called on his transformation again.

She was fine.

He kept telling himself that, repeating it in his mind like a mantra as he flew across the rooftops. Back towards the battle. But it wasn't enough. No matter how many times he told himself that, the liquid lead brewing in the pit of his stomach wouldn’t quite go away.

He landed in a roll on the roof of one of the buildings close to where Stormy Weather had almost-

He shook his head to clear the thought from his mind and squinted. It was hard to see through the rain and sleet. And hail. But the rooftop looked abandoned. But that didn’t mean it was. Stormy Weather had already pulled that trick before…

His lyre began to vibrate on his back. Ducking down, he glanced around to check that the coast was clear. Once sure he was alone, he pulled the weapon off of his back and pressed the button to bring up the holographic screen.

“Viperion!” Pegasus's brows were so furrowed that they almost disappeared behind the lenses of his glasses. “Is Multimouse…”

“She’s fine, just recharging. Where are you? I can’t see anyone.”

Pegasus shot him a look that was something between a smirk and a frown. “She tried to follow you two, but we were able to keep her busy long enough for you two to get away. She wasn’t happy about that but-“ Pegasus flinched as a crash on his end cut him off.

“What was that?”

“I believe that was King Monkey, Carapace, and Chat Noir’s distraction. We’re at the TVi building. From what intel I have been able to gather, it seems she is Aurore Boreal, one of the contestants from the weather channel contest.”

“Do you think that’s what this is about?”

“It would be the logical assumption. We’ll keep her busy as long as possible. I’m sending you our exact coordinates.”

“I’ll be there ASAP.”

He was only partway through typing a message to her when Multimouse landed a few feet away from him.

“Where is everyone?”

“TVi building. They need us there, fast.” She nodded. But the time pressure didn’t stop him from hesitating just a second. Just long enough to look her over in case he had previously missed any signs of injuries… But she seemed fine. Her face was flushed, and her knees seemed wobbly. But her eyes were burning with that familiar spark of determination.

“Let’s go, then.” She was already off. He took one last deep breath and followed her.

They raced across the rooftops as fast as they could in the storm. But they were slowed significantly by the roof tiles, slick with rain and sleet.

And it was still hailing.

Dodging the balls of ice slowed them down significantly. And he couldn’t help but slow their pace even more. She was quiet… and distracted. Like her mind was elsewhere. Already she had slipped and tripped more times than was normal for her. A few times, he had even caught her looking at him out of the corner of her eye. But every time she realized, her gaze darted away. And her face was still flushed…

He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye as they crossed another roof; her gaze was set straight ahead. He almost reached out to stop her- so he could check in with her again. Make sure she really was alright. But a hail stone caught him on the hand, and he hissed in pain.

“You ok?” He skidded to a stop at her softly spoken question.

“Yeah,” he muttered, shaking out the offended hand, “it just caught my finger at a weird angle…” he trailed off as she took his hand in hers to inspect it. “But I was going to ask you, are you sure you’re ok?”

“I-“ she looked up at him with wide eyes, her brows furrowed in concern. But then she glanced down at his hand, still in hers, and she dropped it as if it had burned her. “Of course!” she squeaked. “Come on. We should get going!” She turned on her heel and took off so abruptly, he took a step back.

His frown deepened. But he didn’t have much choice but to follow her.

By the time they had made it to the building across the street from the TVi building, he was feeling as bruised as an apple at the bottom of the bushel. The weather—including the hail—had grown stronger and wilder the closer they had gotten to the building.

Carefully, they crept across the street and slipped through the front doors of the building. The place was completely abandoned. And it was eerily silent.

Silently, they ducked down halls and peered around corners as they made their way to where the coordinates were leading them. Finally, they were standing in front of the doors to what had to be the studio. They exchanged quick glances before ducking inside.

“You’re alright!” Rena’s whispered shout was full of relief as she rushed past him in an orange blur to glomp onto Multimouse in a hug.

She was joined a second later by King Monkey, who pulled both Rena and Multimouse into a hug.“You had us scared there for a second!”

“Yes, I am relieved to see you are well, Multimouse,” Pegasus said, pushing his glasses up as he hung back awkwardly. “I am glad you were able to intervene.”

“Me too,” he added with a shaky laugh as Rena and Multimouse’s eyes bulged from how tightly King Monkey was hugging them.

“Monkey, let go. We can’t breathe!”

“Sorry! Sorry” he let go, holding out his hands in apology as he shot the girls a lopsided grin.

“Good to see you made it outta there, dude, dudette.” Carapace clapped them both on the shoulders. He offered his teammate a smile as Multimouse gasped to reclaim her breath.

“You’re not hurt, are you? I should have gotten to you in time!” Chat was on her in instant, hovering over her with his hands on her shoulders as he checked her over.

“I’m fine,” she said as she waved Chat away. “Viperion got me out of there,” she sidled a little closer to him. Close enough that their arms brushed. “Now we need to deal with Stormy Weather before she tries to fry anyone else.” He cringed at the thought of it, the memory flashing before his eyes, even with them screwed tightly shut. A gentle hand rested against his arm. “You ok?” he opened his eyes at the sound of her quiet voice. She was looking up at him, her blue eyes wide with worry.

He swallowed the hard lump in his throat and did his best to ignore it as it settled itself in the pit of his stomach. “Yeah. I’m fine,” he said quietly. “Now, do we know where she is?”

Rena shot him an unconvinced look, then shook her head. “No, but we do know she’s in the building. As soon as you two were gone- well, it seemed like Hawkmoth-“

“Mothballs-“

“Whatever. It seemed like he wanted her to follow you guys, but you were gone, and she ended up making a beeline for this place instead.”

“She was in here,” Carapace said, waving at the studio.“That was a fun discovery to make,” he added sarcastically. “Rena was able to trick her into chasing off an illusion of us, and we figured we would stay put. This would be the last place she would look for us…”

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Multimouse’s gaze dart around the studio. He could see the light in her eyes and the gears turning in her head.

“What are you thinking, Mouse?’

“Pegasus, how likely is it you would be able to find the floorplans to the building?”

The light glinted off the dark lenses of his glasses, and Pegasus smirked. “That would be child’s play. Give me two and a half minutes.”

“What’s the plan?’ Carapace asked.

“If we can lure her back in here, we’ll be able to trap her. Then King Monkey can disrupt her powers.”

“But we already tried that. How would this time be any different?”

“Because she’ll be in an enclosed space- one we’ll be in control of. Carapace will trap her in a shield, and Pegasus can open a portal into it. You throw your Uproar through and-“

“And we got her!” King Monkey whooped. Only to be shushed by Rena. “Sorry,” he added in a whisper.

“But how do we get her here?” Chat asked.

“With an illusion.”

“They’re able to stick around now, now that we’re out of the storm,” Rena said with a grin.

“And what am I supposed to do?”

“Break the akuma?” Carapace suggested. Chat made a face.

“If anything goes wrong with the shield, you can Cataclysm the support beams.” Pegasus pointed up to the beams the stage lights were suspended from. “That would serve well enough to trap her. Or, at the very least, distract her long enough for King Monkey to use Uproar.”

“And what about you two?” Chat jabbed a finger in his direction.

“We’ll be watching the camera feeds from the security room so we can find her; we probably won’t be able to lure her here on the first try, so we’ll need Second Chance.”

“And you both need to be there for that?” Chat’s mouth tightened to a line when Multimouse nodded.

“It sounds like a good plan to me. As long as Stormy Weather doesn’t get outside again, we’ll be fine.” He rested a hand on Multimouse’s shoulder. She jumped at the contact, and her cheeks turned bright pink.

He couldn’t help but frown. She had been… jumpy. Well, jumpier. Ever since he had saved her from- he shook his head. Of course, she would be jumpy after that. Anyone would be.

But still…

He leaned down towards her as the others discussed where in the room would be the best place to hide and spring the trap from. Out of the corner of his eye, he thought he saw Chat watching him. He turned his attention back to her.

“You ok?” he asked quietly.

“Great!” she squeaked before dissolving into nervous laughter. “Just peachy…”

***

“Reset three, everybody,” he whispered into the comms link. He was met with murmurs of acknowledgement through the earpiece. “Rena, watch that you keep the illusion far enough ahead. She got too close last time.”

“Ok.”

His gaze never wavered from the computer monitors as he directed Rena over the comm link. He could hear Multimouse pacing behind him, standing guard as he guided Rena on where the illusion had to go.

They had come so close the last time. But their timing had been off.

“Not that way; it’s a dead end! Go left!”

He sighed in relief as the illusion swerved left at the last second. But it presented a problem. Now they were heading away from the studio.

He continued to direct Rena on where to guide her illusions. But he was growing antsy. They were running out of time. It hadn’t taken them this long on any of the previous attempts. But, of course, their previous attempts hadn’t gotten them this close before…

His miraculous beeped again.

They were really cutting it down to the wire.

“Take a right up ahead. Studio team, make sure everyone is ready and in position.”

His knuckles were probably white around his lyre under his suit. They were so close.

His miraculous beeped. One minute left.

They were so close.

He couldn't tear his gaze away from the screens. The illusion rounded another corner. Just a few more metres, and the illusion would be barrelling through the open studio doors, with Stormy Weather right behind it. Right into their trap…

“Almost there…” he muttered to himself. Just a few more seconds-

His lyre clattered to the floor as he lurched forward in his seat. What had the blur across the screen been? Just inside the doors? Had it been a shadow or a glitch or…

Stormy Weather burst through the door and swerved right out of the way of Carapace’s shield.

His hand flew to his bracelet.

White light bleached the image from the screen displaying the feed of the studio.

And then the lights went out. And he and Multimouse were sitting in complete darkness.

Teal light began to glow around him.

“M! Cover your eyes!”

She didn’t have time to answer with anything more than a squeak before his transformation dropped, momentarily flooding the room with light.

And then they were sitting in pitch black.

He groped around blindly, searching his pockets for any remaining food he could give Sass. His hand emerged with the remains of the stale gummy bears he had bought from the campus vending machine that morning. It wasn’t much. But they would do.

He waved the candy gently in what he hoped was Sass’s direction until Sass took it from him. He listened as Multimouse muttered into the comms links, checking in with the rest of the team.

Multimouse sighed in relief. “Everyone is ok. Rena is recharging, and Pegasus needs to as well. The rest got out too…”

He hummed his acknowledgement.

“Right. Sorry. You don’t want to risk your voice giving you away- I should- I’m just going to slip outside. I’ll be right there if you need me.” She was quiet as she left, save for the sound of her tripping over a chair. Or maybe the garbage can. And the opening and closing of the door.

“Sorry, Sass. That’s all I have left.”

“That is alright, Luka.” He let his eyes slide shut. There was no perceivable difference in the darkness, but closing his eyes was a mistake. Immediately, his mind began playing the memory of the lightning over and over. Fast and slow. One minute, the memory would rush by in a hopeless blur, and the next, it would drag out agonizingly slow.

His eyes flew open. But he was still faced with utter darkness. And a racing heart. Slowly, he drew in a long breath. Once he had counted to ten, he held it and then let it go, counting to ten as the air rushed out of him.

Every breath helped ease the hammering of his heart. But the image of the lightning loomed over him.

“Snakelet-“

“I’m fine,” he muttered, ignoring Sass’s nickname for him.

“You are not fine.”

“I just need a minute,” he lied. He needed more than a minute. He knew it. Sass knew it. And he knew that Sass knew that he knew it.

Sass sighed. “It is a heavy burden to carry, the power of the ouroboros.” It was obvious Sass did not want to let the subject go. That he wanted to say more. He knew they would have to talk about it at some point. But Sass, maybe not mercifully, was aware of their current circumstances. “I am ready.”

“Sass, scales slither.” Teal light washed over him, lighting up the room for the briefest of moments. When it faded, he was left in pitch black again.

The door creaked as it opened. “Viperion? Are you ready? I saw the light under the door… I’m not looking! Not that I can really see any-“

His yelp cut her off.

It was still pitch black, but he could see her. Sort of; he could make out the image of her hand on the door… like a-

“Are you ok?” she asked, her voice frantic as she stumbled into the room, tripping over something as she came in. “Oh shoot, let me just…” he could see her ghostly image fumbling with something. Suddenly, the room lit up with a beam of light coming from her jump rope handle.

“Fine. I’m fine. I just… I didn’t realize I could see body heat.”

Her face shifted from worried to confused. “Body heat? Like infrared?” He nodded. “Like… right now?”

“No, it was only when we were in the dark. I guess it just kicks in when I need it.”

“Lucky!” She pouted, crossing her arms. “I wish I could see in the dark…”

He quirked a smile. “C’mon, we should probably go find the-“

Rena's giddy voice crackled to life over the commlink. "You guys are never going to believe this-"

“Ouch!”

He flinched at the yowl that had cut through the comms link.

“Pegasus? Are you ok?” King Monkey’s voice crackled to life over the comms link.

“Yes. I walked into a wall. Or perhaps it was a door… I need to find a flashlight-“

“Dudes! It’s so cool! Chat can see in the dark, like completely!”

“There it is! There are flashlights in our weapons,” Pegasus grumbled.

“I don’t even need a flashlight!” Rena crowed. “I can see too!”

“Yeah, yeah, rub it in,” King Monkey grumbled.

“Guys, focus!” The rest of them fell silent. “We need to find Stormy Weather ASAP. Before she finds any of us.”

“An excellent point, Viperion. I think it would be wise if we all regrouped.”

“Is everyone with someone who can see in the dark?” He turned to blink at Multimouse, who was staring furiously at her feet as she twisted her rope in her hands.

“Yeah, dudette. Chat's with us.”

“Rena and I are together.”

He could see where she was going with this. “Then that means we can all move around the building without any lights,” he said slowly.

“And from what information I have gleaned, Stormy Weather does not have night vision abilities…” Pegasus added.

“Which means we have the advantage right now.” Multimouse looked up to flash him a small smile. “If we can regroup without her finding us, then maybe we can get the jump on her again.”

“If she hasn’t already left the building,” Carapace grumbled.

“I don’t think she has.”

“And how do you know?” Chat asked brusquely.

“Call it intuition.”

“Ok then, let’s regroup in the green room.”

“I have sent you all the building plans,” Pegasus said. “Memorize your roots before you make your way there. We do not want anyone to get lost. Or attract her attention before we wish to.”

“Everyone be on your guard; we don't know what other tricks she might be up to.” The others chimed in their agreements, and then the comms line went quiet. He pulled up the screen on his lyre and pulled up the building plans Pegasus had sent. Multimouse drew closer, and together they studied the route they would take.

Once he was sure he knew the way, he stashed his lyre back in its place and his back and smiled at Multimouse. “So I guess I’m going to be your eyes for now?” He held out his hand to her.

She stared at it before dropping her eyes to the floor. ”Right!” she squeaked. “I guess… yeah… I’ll just…” quickly, she put her hand in his, and turned off her flashlight.

It was slow going, edging through the hallways in the dark. They had to keep to the walls since he couldn’t actually see in the dark. He could only see heat signals. But it was still better than nothing. And if nothing else, at least it meant Stormy Weather couldn’t sneak up on them. But that didn’t prevent him from using caution; the last thing he wanted was to come face to face with an akuma in the dark.

Especially when Multimouse couldn’t see at all.

So they went slowly. Painstakingly slowly. He wasn’t normally a jumpy guy, but sneaking around in the pitch dark with an angry akuma after him… It was enough to put anyone on edge. Especially after what this akuma had proven willing to do…

He stopped short; Multimouse bumped into his back, then froze. He took a slow, deep breath as he tried to force the thought from his head, visualizing it leaving him with his exhale. He couldn't afford the distraction.

Multimouse squeezed his hand in a silent question.

Her hand was warm, and there was something comforting about the feeling of it in his. And despite its tiny size, her hand was a strong anchor that helped feather his mind to the present. A reminder that she was ok.

He squeezed her hand in what he hoped was a reassuring gesture and then began to creep forward, guiding her by their connected hands.

Finally, they made it to the studio.

They were the last ones there. They all shifted into defensive stances at the sound of the doors opening and closing. But then the figure he assumed was Rena, based on height, straightened.

“It’s fine, everyone. It’s just them,” Rena said quietly.

“Cool, I guess the team’s all here then. So what’s the plan, dudes?’

“Do you have to say that every other word-“

“Not now, you two.”

“Sorry,” they both muttered.

“Can we turn a light on? It feels weird talking to you guys when I can’t even see you.”

“I think it would be safe enough to do so now. But only one.”

A light suddenly clicked on, flooding his senses. When he blinked the stars away, Chat was staring at him as the rest of them blinked their eyes to adjust to the light shining from Pegasus's horseshoe.

“You can let go of her hand now. We can all see now,” Chat said bluntly.

Her hand… right! He glanced down at his hand, still joined with Multimouse’s. He shot her an apologetic grin. “Sorry about that,” he chuckled as he let go.

“It’s fine!” she squeaked out before hurrying over to the rest of the group.

Chat shot him another look before following after her.

He was two steps towards the group when a chill crawled down his spine. He froze.

“Viperion…” Multimouse’s brows were furrowed in a silent question as she looked back over her shoulder at him.

The air was suddenly still.

Too still.

The way it was before…

“Get down!”

***

“Get down!”

She dove to the ground without thinking.

White light and crackling energy rushed over her.

The lights overhead flickered back on.

Stormy Weather was grinning down at her with a wild look in her eyes. And her parasol was aimed right at her.

She scrambled to throw herself to the side as a freezing blast of wind rushed towards her, hitting right where she had been seconds before. It turned the floor to ice where it struck, sending shivers creeping down her spine.

She rolled to the side blindly, just in time to dodge another freezing blast of air.

“Hey! weather girl! Why don’t you get a taste of this?”

She looked up just in time to see Stormy Weather recoil as she was struck in the face by a- a sandwich?

“You little-“ Whatever the akuma had been about to call King Monkey was cut-off by a plate of what looked like pasta salad sailing through the air, straight towards her face. Stormy Weather swung her parasol to deflect it, forcing King Monkey to duck back behind what looked like a craft service table.

She was not about to lose this chance.

She scrambled up and out of the akuma’s line of sight, ducking behind an armchair.

“Hey, Stormy! Check this out!” She peeked up in time to see King Monkey launch himself off of Carapace’s shield like a springboard. But the akuma batted him out of the air with her parasol before he could do any real damage.

Viperion dove to catch him, and the two disappeared behind a sofa.

“Now…” Stormy Weather growled, “where did that little rat go- there you are.”

She dove out from behind the chair and scrambled away towards Rena, who was beckoning her over with one hand from where she was hidden. Her other hand was holding her flute to her lips. Either she had already cast a Mirage to hide herself, or she was about to.

“Hey! Leave her alone!”

“Oh? Is the little kitty’s tail in a tangle?” She glanced over her shoulder to see Chat glaring up at the akuma. “What happens if I don’t?”

“I’ll make you.”

Stormy Weather giggled. It was a chilling, childlike sound. One that made the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. “I guess you’ll have to catch me then.” And then she turned and fled through the doors.

“Chat! No!” But Chat ignored Pegasus’s call and tore out of the room after the akuma.

She locked eyes with Viperion. Their conversation was silent and brief. And the intensity of his eyes left her cheeks burning.

“Come on,” she grumbled, clambering to her feet and running towards the doors Chat had disappeared to.

“Why does this akuma hate you so much?”

She shrugged to Carapace as they all came to a halt in the hall outside the green room. It was a question she had been asking herself. But it was a question she would have to ponder later. They needed to find Chat and the akuma before anything happened.

“The roof,” Viperion muttered, drawing her attention. He was staring at the doors at the end of the hall that led to the stairwell with his hands in fists. “That has to be where she’s going.”

“You have got to be kidding me,” Rena grumbled as they headed towards the stairs. “We just got out of the rain.”

“Maybe she’s tired of rain…?” King Monkey asked hopefully as he took the steps three at a time.

“Somehow, I doubt that,” Pegasus muttered.

Viperion was quiet as they climbed. His eyes were burning with determination. She couldn’t help but bite her lip. She hadn’t forgotten the way his eyes had been over-bright in his pale and drawn face when he had saved her from the lightning. He had been quiet ever since. Not his usual quiet. An unsettled quiet.

She had to stop herself from laying a hand on his arm when they reached the top of the stairs. They didn’t have time for that. Not when Chat was alone with the akuma. And… maybe it was selfish, but she wanted to talk to him when it was just the two of them.

As if sensing her gaze on him, he turned to her, catching her eye. He shot her a quiet smile before turning his attention to Carapace, who was just reaching the top of the stairs. Heat that had nothing to do with the exertion of racing up flights of stairs bloomed in her cheeks.

And then Rena threw the roof access door open, and she was dragged back into the moment.

They emerged onto the roof and into what looked like the eye of a hurricane. Whirling winds encased the roof in a cyclone, flinging heavy rain and sleet in all directions.

And hail.

Pelting and soaking them from all sides.

She ducked out of sight behind one of the AC units, hyper-aware of the way Viperion was right next to her. His hand brushed against hers as he squeezed in closer to make room for the others. She could feel the phantom weight of the memory of his hand folded around hers, enclosing it in his strong and comforting grip. The heat in her cheeks grew warmer. At least when they had been in the dark, she had had the comfort of knowing he wouldn’t be able to see her blush. She peeked over the top of the AC unit to hide her face, which was no-doubt stained pink with her flush.

Chat was darting around the roof, dodging blasts of wind and lightning as Stormy Weather shrieked with laughter. Spouting off terrible weather related puns as he went. If he wanted to annoy Stormy Weather, he was doing a good job.

“Any ideas?” Viperion’s warm breath on her ear melted her knees. And the way he was so close… her stomach started doing stupid, fluttery things as her breath caught in her throat.

This was bad.

She had a job to do.

She shook her head, trying to clamp down on the fluttering in her stomach as she reminded herself how to breathe. Her gaze darted around the roof. There wasn’t much. Only a few billboards, the AC system and its pipes… the pipes. They almost seemed to light up.

But that wasn’t enough.

She needed…

Her eyes fell on King Monkey’s tail. And then Chat’s. And then…

“Rena, Pegasus.” They both snapped to attention, turning to look at her. “Help Chat distract her, and one of you bring me his belt.”

“His belt?”

She nodded as Rena stared at her incredulously. That would deal with her ability to fly, but…

Her eyes landed on Carapace.

“How small can you make your shields?”

“Small? Dudette, wouldn’t a big one protect us more?”

“Not necessarily. And Monkey, I’m going to need your tail…”

“Sure,” he said with a shrug as Rena and Pegasus rushed towards Chat. “So, what’s the plan?”

“It’s simple, really…” she murmured as the three of them leaned in close so she could share the plan. The plan was quick to explain and deceptively simple sounding. Technically it was simple. But…

“But we’re probably going to need more than one shot at this.”

“Just tell me when, and I’ll have us covered,” he said softly, his eyes flashing in a way that stilled her heart.

“Uh- yeah. Right. Of course. We- we just need to get Chat’s tail now…”

“Here,” Rena gasped breathlessly as she vaulted over the AC unit to land beside their little huddle. She pressed the black belt into her hands. “But you need to hurry. My Mirage won’t last long in this rain and- ouch!” Rena clutched at her forehead, where a hail stone had struck her. “That had better not bruise... I’d better get back out of here before my timer goes.“

“Go. We’ve got it.”

“I’ll be back.”

“Now we just need to tie these together-“

“I’ve got it,” Viperion said quietly, taking the black belt from her hands. Even through her suit, her hands tingled where he had brushed them. He made quick work of tying the tails together in strong, twisting and complicated-looking knots.

“Dude, how’d you do that?”

“I used to sail a lot. Now, let’s go.”

The four of them crept into position by the pipe and fed the ropes under it before passing one end to King Monkey. Carapace crouched beside her, his eyes trained on the parasol as Viperion whispered to activate his powers. Once the bangle was glowing, she gave King Monkey a quick nod.

“Wait,” Viperion whispered, his eyes trained on the akuma. “Now.”

King Monkey darted out into the open, dodging the pelting hail as he went. “Hey! Ice Queen!” The akuma whirled in the air at his shout, the tip of her parasol already glowing with a deadly light. “Gotcha!”

He threw his end of the rope, which had been tied into a loop. She watched, her breath in her throat as it sailed through the air in what felt like slow motion before snagging on the akuma’s ankle.

“Shell-ter!” A glowing green shield appeared, encasing the end of the parasol before she could unleash her attack. Carapace grunted as the lighting crackled and sparked. But it remained safely encased within the shield.

She, Viperion, and King Monkey yanked on the end of the makeshift rope, tugging Stormy Weather down and out of the sky. Pegasus and Chat rushed to help. As soon as Pegasus and Chat had grabbed the rope, King Monkey let go.

“Uproar!”

Stormy Weather wailed as the banana struck her in the forehead. She dropped the last couple of feet to the ground and was immediately restrained from behind by Rena before she could start swinging her parasol like a club.

It was over.

Now all they needed to do was…

“I will do it this time. It seems only fitting, as I was unable to help during the last akuma.” Pegasus said, stepping forward.

“Oh, uh- I could do it! I couldn’t help either…” King Monkey mumbled, dropping his eyes to the ground.

“It’s fine,” Viperion said, resting a hand on their teammates' shoulders. His smile was lopsided but reassuring. And his voice was gentle and firm at the same time. Comforting. “You were held up. We get it. And I’m sure there will be plenty of other opportunities for you to do it.”

She could feel her face melting into a smile. He was always looking out for everyone. In that quiet way of his that was so genuine and sincere. So honest. Without even trying, he was tugging at her heartstrings.

King Monkey flashed them an apologetic but grateful smile as Pegasus broke the parasol in two with a decisive snap. The butterfly passed through his horseshoe, and soft, gentle white light washed over them in a wave before rushing out over the city.

The winds died down, and the hail and sleet dispersed. But the dark clouds and unseasonal, rumbling thunder remained. As did the rain.

The dark magic melted away to reveal a confused blonde and a mended parasol. “Rain?” she asked in a small voice. “It wasn’t supposed to rain…”

“Well,” Carapace groaned, “at least it stopped hailing.”

***

The rain was still beating down. It hadn’t stopped since it started. Not even when they had purified the akuma. The entire city was still blanketed in dark clouds. But they didn’t hold the same darkness they had held when the akuma was active.

They were softer.

The rain was softer too.

The drops pattered against the glass panes of the greenhouse and the puddles forming on deck in a soft and irregular percussion. The perfect acompaniment for a guitar.

But his guitar felt heavy in his hands.

Now that he wasn’t on- now that he wasn’t in the thick battle… he couldn’t stop reliving it. The moment that Mulitmouse had- that he had lost his friend. It was undone. She was alive. Safe.

He knew that.

But he couldn’t outrun the memory.

He couldn’t outrun the image that was seared into his mind, of her and white light.

Playing always helped; music was a salve to the soul. And rain was always inspiring; it was his favourite kind of weather despite the nuisance it could be living on a boat and all. There was something soothing about the sound of the water and the way the streetlights shone softly through it.

But for the first time in… maybe forever, he couldn’t play. He couldn’t find the music. All he could manage was a half-heartedly plucked note here and a perfectly tuned chord that sounded hollow there.

Sass watched him silently from where he was curled up under a fern. His yellow eyes were unwavering. They had already talked; talked until there was nothing left to say.

But it seemed neither of them felt any better.

He sighed. Maybe it was time to throw in the towel and admit defeat. Playing wasn’t getting him anywhere—if he could even really call what he had been doing playing—but maybe listening to something would help. If nothing else, maybe he would be able to shut his mind off for a bit.

He reached into his pocket and groaned. His phone was still down in his bunk, where he left it in his scramble to transform. And his earbuds wouldn’t do him any good without his phone… but Jules had her friends over. And she had made it clear he would regret interrupting them during girl-time.

He ran a hand across his face, rubbing at his eyes. It looked like he would have to figure something else out.

“Luka?” He looked up at the sound of Sass’s voice. The little kwami was floating in front of him now, but a flash of pink on the gangplank caught his eye.

He craned his neck to look around Sass, who turned to follow his gaze. Marinette was stumbling her way across the gangplank, wresting with a duffle bag and umbrella as she wobbled across. His breath caught in his throat; she was clumsy at the best of times, and the gangplank could be slippery. But he couldn’t help but smile at the sight of her. He hadn’t gotten back until after the sleepover had officially started. He had seen the girl with glasses—Alya if he remembered correctly—arrive, spewing something about being held up. But he hadn’t seen Marinette arrive, so he had assumed she had been there on time and that he had missed her.

But here she was.

She was late, and from the way she was scrambling and slipped across the slick deck now that she was onboard, he could tell she knew it.

A blur of teal whizzed through his peripheral, and Sass’s weight was suddenly in the pocket of his hoodie.

Marinette paused at the top of the stairs. The party was obviously downstairs, so why was she… She looked up towards the greenhouse, and her eyes sparkled when they met his. A luminous smile lit up her face.

“Luka!” She was already climbing the steps. By the time she was at the top of the steps, and standing in the doorway to the greenhouse, he had only just risen from the crate he was sitting on. “Oh! I’m sorry- I didn’t mean to interrupt your playing!”

“You didn’t,” he sighed as he lifted the guitar over his head and returned it to its stand.

“I didn’t? But…” her brows furrowed in concern as she pulled the hood of her pink raincoat back. “Luka, are you ok? You look…”

He shrugged. “Just a bad day, you know?”

“Yeah…” she said quietly, her face dimming for a second before brightening again. “But maybe this will cheer you up a bit!” She dropped her bag at her feet and unzipped it. He watched curiously as she rummaged around for something before emerging with a victorious little grin. “Here!” she said brightly, holding out a tiny blue box tied with a neat little bow.

A smile tugged at his lips. It was so her. “Thanks,” he chuckled as he took it. “Maybe I should have bad days more often if it means I get presents.”

“I would have given it to you anyways! Even if you weren’t sad,” she cried. “But I hope it’ll make you feel a bit better,” she added quietly. He glanced up as he pulled off the ribbon; she was biting her lip, watching him with nervous anticipation. Her fingers were playing with the hem of her dress.

He watched her face as he slowly lifted the lid of the box, holding back a grin as she bounced on the balls of her feet.

“Hurry up and open it!”

“I am! I am!” he laughed.

He pulled the lid the rest of the way off the box with a flourish, and brilliant white light streaked across the sky. Her eyes sparkled in the light.

He looked down into the box.

There, nestled in amongst crisp white tissue paper, was a guitar pick. It was a shade of blue just shy of the blackness of the night sky. And painted on it in silver paint, with such heartrending detail, was a constellation.

A perfect twin of the one stamped on his arm.

His favourite.

Thunder rumbled somewhere in the distance.

Its rumble echoed in his quivering heart.

The music of rain and skipped heartbeats and thunder swirled around him in a symphony.

A melody ran through his veins.

He looked up at her; she was grinning, even as she bit her lip. “Do you like it?”

Words. What were they? How did he form them? How did he put his- everything into them?

“I wanted to make you something special, you know? Because you deserve it- you're always looking out for me- and everyone, and I thought you deserved something! You deserve special things, and you don’t do enough nice things for yourself and- I’m sorry it took me so long! I wanted to give it to you sooner, but I needed to find the right paint, and then I wanted to make sure I had the design right and that I would be able to do it on such a small scale- especially with all the detail that your tattoo has…”

Warmth flooded his face, spreading up to his ears and down the back of his shirt as he took in the details of the pick.

She had wanted to do something special.

Just for him.

She had spent so much time… she had gone to so much effort… poured a little bit of herself into something for him.

She had made something meaningful. Something with layers upon layers of meaning- because she knew what the constellations meant to him.

She had done that.

Just for him.

“I love it,” he murmured. His heart stilled the second he looked up at her; her smile was what music should be. “Thank you, Marinette.”

Her smile was still bright, but it softened. And suddenly, she had glommed onto him. Enveloping him as much as she could in a hug.

Tentatively, he wrapped his arms around her. She fit into them so easily. So perfectly. The sweet and floral scent of her perfume clouded his mind in a fog of vanilla and cherry blossoms and her.

His heart sank as she pulled back a little to smile up at him apologetically. “I should go down below… I’m already late enough as it is.”

“Right. I- I shouldn’t keep you..” She stepped out of his arms and turned to gather her bag and umbrella. She shot him one last smile over her shoulder. “I’ll see you later, Luka!”

He watched her as she darted back out into the rain, ducking and trying to cover her head as she made her way down below deck.

Her voice rang in his ears, her radiant smile and shining eyes swam in his mind’s eye.

Was his heart racing? Was it even beating anymore? He tried to remind himself how to breathe as he looked at the necklace in his hand.

The silver chain pooled in his hand was cool against his flushed skin. His eyes roved over the charm. Each star was unique, a little different from all the others. How long had she spent painting them?

His knees wobbled. When had his insides turned to liquid?

He sank back down onto the crate, grateful for its sturdy support. ‘Something special, just for you.’ Her words echoed through his mind. With a sigh, he leaned back.

And suddenly, he was staring up at the glass ceiling of the greenhouse, the world spinning around him. Sass flew out of his pocket to peer at him with a knowing little smirk on his face.

“Luka?” Sass hovered a little closer to his face, “You are on the floor.”

“Yeah,” he sighed, grinning like a fool up at the stormy skies above. “I know.”

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