On a Wing and a Prayer
Marinette knew she shouldn’t have chosen that seat. Okay, no, she hadn’t known it then, but she did now. At the time, if she wanted food from the only place still serving food in the airport, it was the choice between a man who clearly did not want people near him, hunched over his food, arms bracketing his plate like he was expecting someone to steal it at any moment, eying people passing by suspiciously; and a man with an open posture and smile, making polite conversation with the person next to him. The choice was obvious really… obviously wrong. She was sure the Scary Guy would have been fine as long as she left him alone, which is what she wished this man would do for her.
Instead, he had been hitting on her shamelessly and tactlessly for the past ten minutes and if her food didn’t arrive in the next ten seconds, she was going to scream. “Hey, do you know anything about phones?”
Marinette blinked at him. That almost sounded innocent except for the devious glint in his eyes when he said it. “A bit…” she said apprehensively. She’d fixed her parents’ phones a few times when they’d had problems and damn her, she still hated lying, or she would have just said no and left without her food.
“Oh great!” he exclaimed and she knew at that moment she should have lied. “Because I think there’s something wrong with mine.” He slid his phone over to her, open to the contacts page. “It doesn’t have your phone number in it.”
The grin he was giving her clearly indicated he thought his comment was brilliant. Her eyebrows, however, could barely get any higher or her jaw any lower. It took a few seconds longer than she wanted to admit to close her mouth and start to formulate a response. “Oh…” she started but luckily, she was interrupted at just the perfect moment by the waiter bringing her food. “Oh, thank you so much,” she rushed out. “I’m afraid of missing my flight, can I get the check, please?”
“Of course,” the waiter smiled and laid the receipt in front of her. Marinette reached for it, but the man picked it up first. “Let me get that for you,” he insisted with a hopeful smile.
“Oh, no. That’s okay. I appreciate it, but I can…” she started and reached for the receipt, but he quickly held it out of her reach and cut her off.
“I insist. It’s the least I can do. It’s not a problem at all. I can cover it,” he leaned in with a debonair grin, like he was sharing a secret with her.
Marinette let out a breath as she leaned away from him and pasted on a smile that she only kind of hoped didn’t look as strained as it felt. “Thank you. That’s really very… thoughtful of you,” she finished. “I’m sorry, I just have to… do… something before my flight,” she rushed out as she threw her bag over her shoulder and grabbed her food and drink. “It was really… nice meeting you,” she threw out and instantly cringed. Did it count as a lie if it was just what you said in polite society?
He stood up to help her, but she already had everything so instead, he stood by her awkwardly. “Yeah. It was really nice meeting you too. Maybe we can continue this conversation later?”
Marinette gave him a tight smile. “Yeah, maybe. Now, sorry, I really have to go.”
“Right. Bye,” he waved at her back and sat back down watching her as she ducked into the women’s bathroom.
The moment she rounded the corner, Marinette slunk down the wall, her bag dropped to the ground next to her with a slap that resonated throughout the bathroom. She let her head fall back against the wall with a long, heavy sigh. She could only pray that guy was not on her flight, because she did not want to have to spend another minute with him, either on the plane or in Star City.
The airport she could handle, she could just hide out in the bathroom until it was time to board. Not the bravest move she’d ever made, but effective. It was just ten minutes to boarding and then if she waited until the last minute to get on board, her exposure was almost zero. It was a foolproof plan.
She crossed her legs on the floor and got her food out. Not the worst place she’d eaten and definitely preferrable to eating with the guy who’s name she couldn’t remember to save her life.
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She had not thought this through. Or rather, she had, and her plan was successful. The task had been successfully failed. She had stayed in the bathroom until the final boarding for her flight and had not seen the man again. No, the problem was it was a no-win situation. There was no safe plan, so it didn’t matter how much she thought it through. She was left exposed no matter what she would have done, because, despite her most ardent prayers and offering of her dessert to Tikki, the man was on her flight. Her completely full flight, with no assigned or empty seats, if the announcement she just heard was to be believed.
She was now the last person to get onto the plane and completely subject to the other passengers’ decisions, a realization that struck straight to her core as she watched the seats slowly fill up in front of her until there were only two seats left. In an eerie replay of her earlier scenario, the two seats left were next to Scary Guy and Smiley Guy from earlier.
Selfishly, she silently urged the person in front of her to make the same mistake she had made earlier and just as silently rejoiced when they did. She flitted by as quickly as possible saying another little prayer he wouldn’t notice her now or at any point during the flight, and jumped into the seat next to Scary Guy with a loud sigh of relief before they could change their mind. The intimidating exterior that had worked against her earlier, played in her favor now, leaving the spot next to the man open. Maybe her luck was turning around, and she’d be able to have a peaceful, quiet, flirt free flight. She said a silent prayer that was exactly what she got.
The thought quickly disappeared as she stood and looked for a place to put her bag, but all the overhead compartments were stuffed. She eyed the space under the seat in front of her assessing the size and comparing it to her bag. Her bag was smaller than a normal carryon, everything having gotten shoved into her bag on her way out the door in a rush to get to the airport at the last minute. It might be able to fit… She quirked her head to the side with a dissatisfied hum.
“There’s more space under the seat in front of me, if you’d like to use it,” Scary Guy offered with a loud huff.
She blinked at him, the words not quite registering. “What?”
“Your bag’s never going to fit in that section. The aisle seats always have smaller areas under them. I just have my bag up there,” he motioned above them and shrugged. “I’m not using this space. It’s no big deal for me.”
“Oh that… are you sure? It takes away your legroom. This flight isn’t short, and neither are you,” she rushed out uncertainly, rushed out before her mind was able to process what she wanted to say. Her cheeks heated up as soon as she realized what she said. “Sorry, that…”
“Was funny,” he finished for her with a chuckle and a disarming smile that softened his whole face. “It isn’t and I’m not, but I don’t mind,” he shrugged.
Marinette looked back and forth between him and the space and even the person next to him a few times before looking back at him with a shrewd look. “How about we switch seats instead? I can sit in the middle seat, and you can have the aisle, which should give you more leg room anyway.” He raised an eyebrow at her. “I didn’t think you were with the person next to you, and I thought they might… um… appreciate some more space too,” she added nervously, offering an explanation he didn’t ask for.
He huffed out a laugh and shook his head. “I can do that. If you’re sure you don’t mind sitting in the middle. I know most people don’t like it.” He waited until she nodded before standing. Marinette barely contained her gasp at how, even hunched over to avoid the bulkhead and roof of the plane, he still towered over her. He moved past her with an ease she would never have associated with someone his size, with only the barest of brushes against her arm as he moved. Her cheeks flushed at the contact and his apologetic smile. “Sorry, not much room,” he mumbled.
“No, that’s… you’re okay,” she murmured back shyly. She quickly eased into the middle seat and turned away to keep from staring at him or from him seeing her cheeks. She pulled her tablet and phone out before shoving her bag under the seat, breathing a sigh of relief as her bag slid easily into place. “Thank you so much again.”
“I should be thanking you. This is much better.” He stretched his legs out into the aisle as the plane taxied into position and let out a louder than necessary sigh. She giggled and turned on her tablet and Jagged’s latest unreleased album, letting his guttural tones lull her into a creative daze.
She didn’t know how long she stayed in the daze, but she had already sketched out two options for the cover, the current one her favorite by far, by the time she became aware of the area around her again, just in time to notice Scary Guy chuckling, vibrating the entire row of seats, which, she realized must have been what brought her out of her stupor. It was then she noticed to her mortification that she’d been shimmying in her seat to the song and the more she thought about it, she realized she had also been mouthing the words to the song.
She clenched her eyes closed while her cheeks flushed yet again, much deeper that time, and let out a tiny whimper. Her eyes flew open when his voice sounded deep and resonating, close to her ear. “That’s really cool looking,” he noted, leaning into her space slightly to get a better look. “What’s the inspiration?” He looked up questioningly but immediately backed up, the tension in his muscles increasing proportionally to the amount of space he put between them. “Oh, sorry. I didn’t mean to intrude.”
She covered the drawing slightly. “No, it’s okay. Um, thanks. It’s… I’m… uh…” she paused as she tried to figure out how to phrase it so she wasn’t lying or being standoffish or divulging too much, which would nullify her contract with Jagged. Not that he would care, but Bob Ross would. In fact, she wouldn’t put it past him to have sent a corporate spy to try to trick her, then steal her idea and use it himself. Not that she thought Scary Guy was a corporate spy, but it was still best to be safe. “I’m listening to this album and getting inspired by it.”
His tension had eased away at her assurance. “Whatever the album is, it must be really inspiring.” He examined the image. “What is it… if you don’t mind me asking.”
She studied his face intently for a few seconds trying to decide if she’d been wrong and he really was a spy, but she saw nothing but earnest interest. “It’s Jagged Stone,” she said carefully.
“I love Jagged Stone!” he grinned, his whole face brightening, all vestiges of intimidation dropping with the appearance of dimples. ‘Scary Guy’ didn’t seem like an appropriate moniker when his face was lit up like that. “Rock Giant was my favorite album.”
She grinned back. “I loved that one! But I’m a bit partial.”
He cocked his head to the side, his smile never leaving his face. “Why is that?”
Marinette’s eyes widened minusculely and her smile strained. “He made that one in Paris, which is where I’m from. He also has a song about Ladybug, one of our heroes,” she answered quickly. It was all true, factually. Not the answer to his question, but true.
He nodded. “That was a good one. One of my favorite songs and one of my favorite superheroes. She was a complete badass. Right up there with Wonder Woman.”
Marinette looked down to cover the vivid flush to her cheeks and bashful smile. She ran her hands over her arms to expel some of the energy that flushed her system at the compliment, without looking suspicious. And to be compared to Wonder Woman! It was possibly the best compliment she’d ever received.
“I get chills talking about Ladybug and Wonder Woman too,” he teased.
Marinette snorted and shook her head. “This trip was very last minute, like I didn’t know about it an hour before, last minute. So, I packed at the last second and somehow forgot to pack a hoodie,” she explained. Again, it was factually correct, just not really related to the chills as he’d assumed. “Which is absolutely ridiculous, because I always have something. I’m always cold. My friends will be in shorts and sleeveless tops and I’ll be in slacks and a jacket. And usually, it wouldn’t even be an issue, because I’d just steal one of my friends’, but J… the person I’m meeting never wears hoodies so I’m going to have to buy one or something.”
Jason sighed dramatically. “That’s one of the drawbacks of being… not short,” he grinned as he threw her words back at her. “I don’t get to steal anyone else’s hoodies, but my brothers all steal mine. I’m always missing mine. I go to put one on and can’t find any, then my brother will just waltz by in my hoodie. I have to tackle him to get it back.”
She barked out a laugh and immediately shrunk back when people around them shot her a look. She cleared her throat and continued much quieter. “And are you successful?”
“Of course,” he scoffed and puffed out his chest, throwing her a look as he did. “What do you take me for? The hoodie might get destroyed in the process, but I get it back. I wish it meant he learned not to steal my stuff, but it never does. Not even for a few days.”
“Ahh, the joy of siblings. I always wanted some. I just have to settle for tormenting and stealing from my friends,” she laughed.
“Yeah, you have the sibling experience then,” he chuckled, his eyes sparkling. “They take everything! I have to hide my keys, keep my coffee in my hand the entire time, loom over my plate to keep them from stealing my food… I have to raid their rooms periodically to get my stuff back.”
“They steal your coffee?” Marinette gasped louder than she meant to, again drawing attention from the people around them, this time unnoticed, and drew her hand to her chest theatrically. “It should be illegal to mess with someone’s caffeine.”
“Oh God,” he whined as he threw his head back, eyes clenched dramatically. “You sound like my brother. Next thing I know, you’re going to be stealing my hoodies.”
She pouted deeply enough to be clear she was teasing, but her eyes were a bit tense. “Well, that doesn’t sound like a good thing. I might get tackled.”
“I promise you’re safe,” he offered, his own voice a bit tense. He only relaxed back into his seat when she smiled shyly.
“So, what I’m hearing is you have a hoodie I can steal and you won’t do anything about it,” she teased. Her shy smile widened when he snickered and shot her a roguish smile. He opened his mouth to respond but she cut in before he could. “Oh no,” she muttered under her breath. She tried to meld into the background, a rather pointless endeavor on the very packed, small, confined plane, but she still attempted it. She was considerably smaller than Scary Guy, maybe she could hide behind him? She groaned realizing it was useless. Smiley Guy had already seen her. There was no hiding in the bathroom this time.
“You okay?” Scary Guy asked just as quietly. Her futile attempt to hide having brought her close enough for him to speak in a whisper without having to move closer, but he did anyway. His eyes darted around and quickly settled on the man making his way toward them. “He a problem?”
“Just fine,” she grumbled, bracing herself, “didn’t you know, we’re moments away from falling in love. At least according to him.”
He snickered at her tone. “And according to you?”
“I’ve rarely been less in love with someone,” she drawled. “And I’ve met actual supervillains.” He snickered again but adjusted his position so he was blocking more of the access to her without looking obvious. She narrowed her eyes playfully at his enjoyment of her situation but took note of his move.
“There you are, kitten,” Smiley Guy crooned, missing the way she bristled at the name. He leaned casually against the aisle seat of the row in front of her, taking up the entire aisle as he popped his legs out to cross them at the ankle. “This must be fate bringing us together again.”
“There is absolutely no way I’ve pissed fate off enough for that,” she muttered under her breath, low enough that only Scary Guy could hear her, smirking at her comment, but hiding his face from Smiley Guy. Though it appeared that she must have pissed someone off because each and every prayer so far had been ignored. She forced a curt smile for Smiley Guy. “Hello again.”
His grin widened into something almost predatory. He flicked his eyes over to Jason for just a second before focusing back on Marinette. “Hey, sport, we were having a conversation earlier that we’d like to continue. Do you mind switching seats with me?”
“Actually,” Marinette answered for him, “He and I,” she motioned between herself and Scary Guy, “were having a very interesting conversation about music and families that I was hoping to continue.”
“Surely not as interesting as ours was. We had something,” he pouted slightly at her.
“Yeah, a hostage situation,” Jason scoffed.
The man’s façade dropped instantly, replaced with a harsh glare at Jason. “I don’t believe this involves you, skippy,” he sniped.
“It involves me,” Marinette growled. Making her uncomfortable is one thing but Not so Scary Guy had done nothing to deserve his ire. She leaned forward to try to keep the entire plan from overhearing their conversation. “And I said I am satisfied with the seating arrangement as it is.”
He snapped his eyes to her, something flashed in his eyes and his grin faltered for just a second before he recovered it. “Come on, baby,” he cooed as he reached out to graze his finger along her hair.
She jerked back at the same time Not so Scary Guy stood, both moving before Smiley Guy could make contact. Not so Scary Guy rose with such speed Smiley Guy jumped back in surprise, falling into the passengers in the row behind him, causing a loud squawk of objection that attracted the flight attendant’s attention. Not so Scary Guy nodded to them quickly and returned his attention to Smiley Guy. “I believe she said she was satisfied where she was,” Scary Guy gritted out, fully reverting back to earning his moniker. He towered over the man, having to hunch over to keep from hitting the roof of the plane even after angling himself toward the highest point.
Smiley Guy’s face paled so rapidly; Marinette was worried he might pass out. He looked between the two of them a few times before scowling harshly. “She’s not even worth it anyway,” he scoffed before beating a hasty retreat.
Scary Guy growled at his retreating form. He watched him until Smiley Guy sat back down in his seat, only then relaxing his frame and turning to open the overhead compartment. “Thank you,” Marinette said loud enough for him to hear.
He grabbed something out of the compartment and sat back down with a shrug. “No problem. I hate guys like that.”
She studied him carefully. “Were you really going to fight him? On the plane?”
He snickered, instantly returning to the Not so Scary Guy she’d started to appreciate. “No. I was just getting up to get this for you,” he said innocently as he handed her the object he’d grabbed. Marinette raised a skeptical eyebrow at him, accompanying a flat, unimpressed look. He shrugged as casually as he could manage, but his devilish smile eradicated any semblance of innocence. “I thought you could use it,” he explained craftily.
She hummed unconvinced but grudgingly dragged her eyes from him to the object. Her eyes widened immediately and shot to him questioningly. He eyed her cautiously for a few seconds. “You said you were cold,” he explained, his tone and expression much softer. “And I thought you wouldn’t have to steal it if I handed it over. It might be a bit big,” he added with a quiet smirk when she had unfolded his hoodie and held it up against her body.
“A bit?” she asked with a laugh. Her chuckle quickly turned into a pout at the snicker he unsuccessfully hid when she put on the hoodie and the sleeves hung long past her hands. She rolled her eyes and pushed up the sleeves.
“And, I wouldn’t start a fight on a plane… well, not this kind anyway,” he added with a shrug. “It wouldn’t end well for anyone here, especially you. And I’ve found,” he leaned in closer like he was telling her a secret, “guys like that are all bark and no bite. You bark back and they back off.”
She hummed and tried not to breathe in too deeply or she’d get distracted by his scent. “I’ve found that too. But I’m a bit smaller than you,” she pursed her lips at seeing the way his body shook containing his laughter. She moved her hand to wave him off, but the excess fabric slung out and slapped him on the chest, which changed his silent laughter to full blown laughter. She huffed and crossed her arms over her chest, attempting to look upset, but her lips didn’t receive the message, turning up at the corners.
The more she pouted, the more he laughed, which made her pout more, or at least attempt to, she still couldn’t get her lips to cooperate, until they were both trying to contain their laughter to keep from disturbing the people around them. “No, I’m sorry. I’m sorry. Please continue,” he finally gasped out.
She narrowed her eyes at him playfully but obliged. “As I was saying,” she eyed him pointedly and ignored his smirk, “I’m smaller than you so I have to bark a bit louder.”
“I can imagine that’s quite the frightening sight,” he nodded solemnly, the trace of a smirk still on his lips.
“It is, thank you very much,” she agreed, jutting her chin into the air proudly.
He eased back into his seat with a chuckle, his fond gaze never leaving her, but suddenly sat forward. “Just don’t try it in Star City, yeah? The rogues are all bite… except Pinball Wizard,” he added with a smirk. “Him you can bark at.”
Marinette giggled. “Pinball Wizard? Really?”
He grinned at her incredulous look. “Yeah. Shoots pinballs, you know those little balls from pinball machines? He shoots those at people. Not as sad as Rainbow Archer though,” he said it casually, but watched her from the corner of his eye to watch her reaction.
Marinette blinked at him. “Rainbow… Archer…” she said slowly. “Come on, someone named Rainbow can’t be sad or mean,” she claimed hopefully. “Does he shoot rainbows? At them or produce them somehow? Or is he just very supportive of LGBT?”
“I don’t think he supports anything but concussions,” he snorted, subconsciously rubbing his bicep. “Not really sure where the name came from, honestly.”
“I want to make fun of your villains, but we had Bubbler, and he was one of the better ones, so…” she shrugged. She grimaced at the memory of Nino.
“Not mine,” he corrected. “I’m just visiting a friend. I visit a lot, it’s like a second home, but I make no claims to their rogues.” He gave her a knowing look. “Our rogues in Gotham are much more serious.”
Marinette giggled and looked down shyly. She looked up to ask something else but before she could say anything, an announcement came over the speakers that they were making their descent. She smiled softly and him and sat back in her seat as they landed, all her courage suddenly leaving her.
She waited until they had landed and taxied to their gate before her courage found her again. “Any recommendations on things I should do in Star City?” she asked as the seats ahead of them started to empty. She anxiously pushed some hair behind her ear more to give her hands something to do than because it was bothering her. “Other than barking at minor rogues? Or are you only familiar with the criminals?” she teased.
He grinned brightly. “Yeah, a few. I could take you around, if you’d like?”
“I would love that,” Marinette grinned. Her eyes suddenly widened. “Oh,” she scrambled to get her phone back out. “Here,” she said as she handed it over. She watched as he put his name and number in, examining it even closer when he handed it back. “Jason,” she said deliberately, letting the name roll in her mouth, enjoying the way it felt to say. “It’s nice to meet you, Jason. I’m Marinette.”
“Marinette,” Jason repeated in the same tone, finding it just slightly difficult to fully articulate with a broad smile. “Beautiful name. It suits you,” he said quietly.
Marinette’s cheeks flushed deeply, and she pulled her lower lip between her teeth, getting lost in his eyes until the person in the seat next to her cleared their throat, reminding them where they were. She chuckled self-consciously. “Sorry about that,” she said to the person but returned her attention to Jason.
They continued to shoot each other sly, shy looks as they made their way up the jetway until they got into the airport and past security. They paused just before the doors, squeezing closer than they normally would to avoid the people bustling around them. “So, tomorrow?” Jason asked. Marinette got slightly distracted by the way his fingers kept gripping and loosening around the strap of his bag, until someone bumped into her, pushing them even closer together, a fact Marinette didn’t have as much of an issue with as she normally would.
She grinned at him and nodded, but her grin faltered slightly. “Actually, maybe not tomorrow. I expect tomorrow is going to be really busy with… the person I’m meeting.” He cocked his head slightly at the stutter. “The day after?” she asked hopefully. She moved a step closer when she could feel someone standing a bit too close behind her.
He watched her for a second before nodding, for the first time appearing apprehensive about her. “Yeah, if you’re su…” he trailed off, his eyes catching on the person immediately behind Marinette, clearly listening in on their conversation. He narrowed his eyes at him. “Is that… is Jagged Stone eavesdropping on our conversation?” he whisper hissed.
Marinette gasped and swung around, slapping the man in the chest, this time with her hand instead of the sleeve. “Jagged! What are you doing?” She slapped him again and looked around for Penny. “What have I told you about this? Where is Penny? Why are you here?”
“Penny is talking to Bob in the car and I couldn’t just not meet my little rocker!” he pouted dramatically.
“Oh my God,” Jason mumbled. “That’s why the album was special to you!” he exclaimed pointing at her.
Marinette grimaced and smiled sheepishly. “I may have a slightly closer relationship with Rock Giant than I indicated,” she admitted, not quite able to meet his eyes.
When she finally did, her muscles relaxed instantly at seeing the awe in his eyes. “You did the cover art! That was brilliant! You’re brilliant.”
Her smile widened, matching his. Their gazes met, getting lost in each other until they were interrupted by a loud, “Oi! I’m still here you know!”
Marinette tore her eyes away guiltily. “Sorry, Jagged. Jagged, this is Jason. Jason, this is Jagged.”
Jagged held his hand out to shake Jason’s but refused to let him go when they finished. Instead, he pulled him closer and looked him up and down uncharacteristically harshly before nodding and turning to Marinette. “So tomorrow, I’m thinking we should meet in the morning then,” his eyes flicked to Jason so quickly Marinette almost missed it, “you should take a bit of time to explore the city, get some inspiration, get some food, get some kisses…”
“Jagged!” Marinette exclaimed, scandalized. “Oh my God,” she muttered and hid her face in her sleeves. She shot Jason a timid smile as she shoved Jagged toward the exit. “Tomorrow?”
He chuckled and nodded. “Tomorrow,” he agreed. “Text me when you’re done.” She shot him a smile and nodded. He shook his head as she passed through the doors, arguing with Jagged who was gesturing wildly, the entire way. He followed them out the door as well, shivering when the cool night air hit his skin. He started to reach for his hoodie before realization hit. He looked after the limo that was pulling away and shook his head incredulously with a laugh. That was one hoodie he didn’t mind never getting back.
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