#who else should i expose to the kitty beam

[fugso]

Alkit and fogato hehehhe *I am dragged off the stage by a comically large hook*

#fire emblem #fire emblem engage #alcryst #fogado #who else should i expose to the kitty beam #my art #fanart #art #digital art #anime #chibi #catboy #fe alcryst #fe fogado #these two have the cutest supports #fe engage

[mlbthoughtsandships]

Compulsion--8/?

Read on AO3

[1-Imprint on Me/Soulmate–Imprint] [2-Jealousy] [3-Unconventional Proposals] [4-The First Night] [5-Who’s really the sap?] [6-Spoilers] [7-Ask Me Again]

This newest akuma was...different. This woman wore a white and pink maid's outfit; the apron was heart-shaped; and the chest was a giant clock with heart-shaped hands. It was in this clock that her powers lay; at random intervals--Ladybug couldn't stop moving long enough to nail down a pattern, a burst of pink light would rip through the center at in the direction of her target. Chat Noir had already been clipped; a giant, yellow timer counted down from 10 minutes above his head. No amount of questioning would result in an answer; the akuma had just cackled and said that they would both see at the end of the timer. She had announced herself as Countdown, but offered no more information. Since that moment, she had been trying to nail Ladybug with her beam. 

"Why won't you stay still!?" She complained, furiously. Ladybug ducked behind a parked car as Chat redirected the beam into a post. He joined her behind the car. 

"What do you want to do, milady? As curious as I am about this timer, I'm not very eager to see what it does," he stated. 

"I think we're going to need some he-" The car was suddenly blasted away. Chat Noir barely managed force Ladybug's head down as another blast sent the car soaring into the park. They both vaulted to their feet, ready to dodge or fight, whenever another blast--not hardly 30 seconds from the last--slammed into Ladybug's chest. Chat cried out for her as she went flying back into a separate light post. She groaned at the painful strain to her back and looked up at her own timer--now blazing about her head. 5 minutes...and it was counting down faster than Chat's. 

"Oh~," the akuma sang. "Oh my, kitty's gonna have a broken heart." 

"You ready to tell us what it does?!" Chat demanded. 

"If you haven't figured that out by now, then I'm definitely not going to tell you." Ladybug looked around. The epicenter of the attack was close; men and women bore the same timers-counting down. There was a sound of something chiming coming from Countdown's clock. Her eyes immediately darted almost manically around the square; Ladybug's eyes followed hers. One woman's timer hit zero and then she vanished. She reappeared, however, soon after--right as another woman's timer hit the same number. They stood in front of one another in a daze as a pink hue took over their irises. The akuma laughed gleefully. "I knew it~" She sang. "You two were totally soulmates!" She jumped up and down in delight. Ladybug's mouth fell open.

"You mean these silly timers are a soul-mate radar?!" She complained. The akuma's glee died down; a pout came on her lips. 

"Yes, I can't believe I gave the game away..." Her pout disappeared as quickly as it had come. Her smile got wider. "There's also a compulsion charm imbedded into the beam. Those two will be going out to dinner. You two however...will deliver your miraculous once the timer reaches zero!"  

Ladybug's lips twitched. The akuma realized it at the same time and let out a shriek of rage; they would be teleported to their soulmate. Which could be anywhere in the city. "Well, I suppose you'll have 4 minutes to try and take it, Countdown." She taunted as she dropped into a fighting stance. Chat, however, didn't move immediately; he was busy having an internal meltdown at the fact that Ladybug's timer was faster and lower. His timer had only just moved past 8 minutes.

"Ah," Chat shook himself. "I won't let such a silly thing as timers separate us, milady!" He declared with bluster, jumping upwards as a beam shot at his feet. 

"Ah, but they are accurate," Countdown teased. "They'll transport you to your soul's one true fit." 

"And how can you read our souls?" Ladybug asked as both of them crept closer to the distracted akuma. "What makes you the deciding vote?" 

"I'm not~," she sang, "you are." Chat hooked his baton into a sewer drain lid while Ladybug kept the akuma's eyes on her. She shot her yoyo at Countdown's head. The woman dodged. "HA, you missed!" Her yoyo wrapped around the light post. Ladybug used the momentum of the string and the steadiness of the post to propel herself forward. The akuma dodged as Ladybug's feet flew past, but she couldn't dodge the sewer cap that Chat Noir hurled with his baton. It slammed into her and knocked her to the ground, but the clock did not break. 

Which was unfortunate. 

Ladybug's timer hit 0:00. 

 X

Luka yelped as a weight slammed into the deck beside him. He jumped up as he identified the mass on the deck. "Ladybug!" He cried out as she staggered to her knees. She pressed her palm to her forehead as if gathering her bearings. "Are you okay?" He asked as he helped her to her feet. She leaned into him for a moment, naturally, as if they had done it a thousand times, before pushing away. 

"Yeah," she seemed to take assessment of herself and then gave a firmer nod, "yeah. I need..." She looked up at him, their eyes met, and her eyes glazed over in a pink film. Luka's stomach dropped. 'She's under the influence of an akuma,' he realized. He looked around the deck for something, anything that could snap her out of it or save him if the influence made Ladybug violent. "Luka," she called before he resolved himself to using his guitar for blocking. "Luka~" she sang. His eyes snapped over to her; first in alarm at the beautiful voice and then in true shock as her hands reached up for her ears. He realized immediately what the influence was. He grabbed her hands quickly and pulled them down by her hips. The action brought them closer--closer than he had ever thought he would be to the one who gave him the chance to be a temporary hero. "What are you doing?" She asked as she wiggled; a small giggle escaped her. He tried to ignore how jarring that sound was coming from the leader of the miraculous team and how familiar it seemed. 

"Stopping you from making a mistake," Luka told her as he kept hold of her hands. He held her back into the depths of the boat, hidden from eyes.

"But you wanted to know my secret!" Ladybug protested. Luka almost tripped on the first step down into the hull, realizing that she was referencing his akumatization. He almost clipped his shoulder on the wall, but Ladybug pulled back just enough that he stayed on course.

"You don't want to do what you think you do," he told her soothingly. "I never should have asked." 

"You should have! It was within your right to know!" Ladybug argued as she tried to wiggle her hands free. "I do love you, Luka," she said freely. His eyes widened; his grip on her hands loosened for a second. He scrambled to try and catch her hands as they darted up to her ears, attempting to make the most of her time freed. Luka did the only thing he could think of. He slapped his hands around her wrists and pinned them to the wall behind her. Her mouth fell open and a vivid blush spread across her cheeks. He took a deep calming breath. 

"No, you don't." He argued. "It's the akuma making you-"

"No, it isn't." Ladybug retorted, trying to free her wrist in sharp bursts. Luka wondered idly why she wasn't overpowering him; in the suit, she was certain strong enough. 'But the compulsion isn't...there's something else to it. She didn't just appear to me randomly and she's acting almost...lovesick.' 

"Ladybug, why are you here?" He asked. 

"Countdown, the akuma, her beam is supposedly some soulmate timer or something corny like that..." Luka didn't have time to unpack all that, especially since her leg was now sliding up his. She could easily kick him away, all it would take was wedging her knee between them. He swallowed.  

"I'm sorry about this," he apologized as he closed the small distance between them and pressed into her body. Her cheeks flooded with red and he was certain his own matched. "T-The, ah, compulsion is secondary to the timer?" He questioned. 'Get her thinking,' he rationalized. 'Engage her brain and she'll stop trying to expose herself...' Ladybug nodded. "Why is the thought that you love me more overpowering than the compulsion?"

"She's a matchmaking akuma," Ladybug clarified. "She said that I was the deciding vote about who I was transported to." Luka swallowed as he fought the urge to lay his head on her shoulder--even temporarily in exasperation. 'So, I'm gonna have to unpack it, huh?' He thought.

"So, subconsciously, you thought of me whenever she said soulmate?" Ladybug shook her head. 

"No, I thought of you when she said 'my soul's perfect fit'. Soulmate is too...broad of a definition. If that were all, I could have just as easily teleported to Alya--since I consider her a platonic soulmate. But 'perfect fit' means more."

"That...doesn't sound like subconscious," he said weakly. It wasn't just her response; it was the name Alya combined with the way she said  Ladybug smiled, but it was a trembling thing as if she didn't want to be saying all this. Luka's eyes widened. "You can't help but respond to me," he realized with dread. 

"It doesn't seem like I have much of a filter," Ladybug agreed. Luka's mind raced. 

"It's more than that, you have to be honest with your responses..." Ladybug nodded again. Luka pinched his lips together. "Shit, okay. Where is the fight happening?" 

"Near the park that has the Ladybug and Chat Noir statue," she answered. Confusion had slipped into her tone.  

"I want you to take me there." 

"What? Why?" 

"Because you are the only one who can purify the akuma."

"I'm not taking you into danger without a suit, Luka!" Ladybug argued; the first hints of her true self since before the pink glow. Luka pursed his lips. 

"Please, Ladybug," he begged. She jerked as if he had slapped her; he bit into the inside of his cheek. A whine escaped the back of her throat as her head slammed into the wood of the boat. 

"Don't," she protested weakly.

"Please," Luka repeated. He smothered the guilt as her pained eyes met his. He gave her wrists an apologetic squeeze as he stepped away and let his hands fall. His request seemed to overpower the compulsion as she stepped forward and let him out of the boat. She wrapped her arm around his waist and urged him to hold onto her. "Focus on the fight when we get there and I'll be safe," he told her as she swung the rope around a pipe jutting out from a house just a few feet from where they were docked. His breath caught as they were off. It was a jarring feeling, traveling by air-hanging from someone. 

Before the feeling could make him dizzy, they landed at the fight. Chat Noir had broken the clock and freed the akuma. He had managed to cage it in his hands. The timer above his head read 4 minutes. He stared in astonishment at Ladybug and Luka. Luka caught her hands before they could dart back up to her earrings at the realization that there was no akuma, no fight to be had.

"The akuma needs to be purified," Luka tried. He didn't want to ask her to do something again whenever she couldn't resist. Ladybug's lips pouted. 

"Yeah, but..." 

"I need you to purify the akuma, Ladybug," Luka resigned himself. 

"Thank you," Ladybug breathed, stunning him, as her yoyo wiped out. Chat's hands parted numbly, allowing Ladybug to catch it with her yoyo. 

"Bye-bye, little butterfly," she said as the purified butterfly flew off. Now that the akuma was cleansed.

"Is the compulsion still-" 

"No, it's not," Ladybug sighed in relief. She turned to him. Her blue eyes were shining with relief and true affection. Luka's stomach clenched. 'Oh,' he realized immediately. The words she had spoken under the influence of the akuma combined with the way she was looking at him now--'Marinette.' And it was like the mask no longer existed. He could see the freckles across her nose that were hidden by the mask. He kept his expression as neutral as he could. Then, Ladybug hugged him; and he didn't bother hiding the shock. "Thank you," she whispered somehow more earnestly than before.  

"You're welcome," he murmured as she stepped back and let him go. He was aware of Chat's eyes fixed on them, but the black cat didn't say a word. Mari-Ladybug called for her Lucky Charm and threw it into the air. The Miraculous Cure washed over the city, Chat, and herself in turn. 

"I'll tend to the akumatized victim," Chat Noir said in the silence that had settled once the ladybugs had retreated. "You should take Luka home." He added to Ladybug. Ladybug nodded. 

"Right. Thanks, Chat." 

Like before, they traveled in silence. As they landed back onto the deck, Luka rubbed the back of his neck and readied to tell her that he knew. 

"Luka..." She interrupted. "I...know you aren't stupid...and we can eventually come back to this," the this was loaded, "but right now..." 

"Hey, I told you didn't I?" He stuffed his hands into his pockets. "I'll be here when you're ready." He reminded her with a slight smile. Her breath caught. Her own smile, trembling with both heartache and relief, pulled her lips. 

"Yeah." They shared a smile and she turned to leave. As she put her foot up on the edge of the boat, she turned back to him. "I meant it, you know," she reminded him. 'I do love you, Luka.' 

"I know," he reassured. 

#pro lukamari #pro lukanette #lukanette endgame #luka couffaine #marinette dupain cheng #soulmate au

[erin-bo-berin]

Wrapped Around Your Finger

MASTERLIST

This was a request from @theitcaramelchick​ where daddy Spencer ends up caving into his little girl when she begs to adopt a cat. I was melting a bit while writing it, just be warned. I love me some daddy Spencer. Happy reading!

Spencer Reid/Reader

Word Count: 2,721

Rating: G (fluff)

Spencer lived for his daddy-daughter dates with his little girl, Willow.

She had asked to get ice cream, so getting her ice cream is what he did. She was happily eating her cone of mint chocolate chip but getting it more on her face than actually in her mouth.

“You love mint chocolate chip ice cream like your daddy, don’t you?” he smiled.

“Mhm,” she nodded big, taking another bite.

“Your face is a mess,” he chuckled, not bothering to wipe it just yet.

“Oops,” she giggled.

They’d been to the library previously, for her to pick out a book or two to have for the week. He was big on making sure his little girl was exposed to books and reading. So far, she loved having stories read to her, even pretending to read them herself. He couldn’t wait until she started reading on her own.

She kicked her legs happily as she sat in the chair, enjoying her ice cream.

“Daddy?”

“Yes baby?”

“Where’s your ice cweam?”

“I ate mine already,” he answered.

“Oh.”

“I ate mine without making a mess like you are, Princess,” he chuckled, tickling her side a bit.

She squealed and squirmed from his touch.

He grinned, taking her in. Sometimes he still couldn’t believe how big she’d gotten recently. She was no longer his little baby girl, but a growing girl with a mind of her own and stubbornness to rival her mother’s.

Today she was dressed in a periwinkle, sleeveless romper with a bright and colorful fruity pattern on it. Ruffles along the edges from the shoulder to the waist of the romper and little pink striped decorated pockets completed the adorable outfit. 

Y/N had put Willow’s light brown wavy curls in pigtails this morning, but by now they were starting to look disheveled with strands of her hair falling in her face from all the running and playing she’d been doing. 

He reached over to push a strand of hair out of her face and she looked at him with the same hazel eyes as his and gave him a big smile.

Y/N often said that Willow had gotten his own huge, heartwarming smile and in that moment he had to admit he could see what she meant.

“How in the world do you have ice cream on your nose?” he laughed.

“I don know,” she shrugged honestly, causing him to chuckle more.

“You’re a mess munchkin.”

He kissed her head and waited until she finished her cone then wiped her entire face with a baby wipe from his backpack.

“Your mommy will kill me if she finds out I let you have ice cream this close to dinner.”

“Our secwet,” she beamed holding out her pinkie.

Spencer smiled, hooking his much larger pinkie around hers.

“You finished?”

“Ya,” she nodded, trying to climb out of the chair.

He picked her up, holding her with one arm and grabbed their trash in the other, walking to deposit it in the trash can. 

When the two were out of the ice cream parlor, he set her down on the sidewalk and took her hand.

“Daddy?”

“Mhm?”

“When brudder be hewe?”

Spencer smiled, thinking of Y/N who was currently 22 weeks with their little boy.

“In about four months,” he answered.

“How long dat?” Willow asked, looking up at him confused.

“Still a little while longer, lady bug. He’s got to grow big and strong before he can leave mommy’s belly.”

“Well I want to see him,” she pouted.

Spencer chuckled. Willow was definitely something else alright. 

Suddenly, Willow was practically pulling him to a stop. To be so tiny, she sure had quite the strength against him.

“Daddy look at the da doggies and kitties! Can we go look?”

“Not today, sweetie.”

Spencer knew good and well that if he let Willow in the shelter it would take all his energy to pull her away when it was time to go. He loved that about his little girl though. She loved animals so much and had such a huge heart that was ever expanding to include more people and more animals.

“Pwease, pwease, pwease?”

She pouted up at him before wrapping her arms around his leg, attaching herself to it. 

He didn’t miss the amused glances and smiles from the passing strangers. It must be quite the sight to see this tiny girl quite literally clinging to his leg, as adorable as it was.

“Okay, okay. We can go in,” Spencer gave in.

It was hard to say no to her, much to Y/N’s dismay. But she too, experienced the same difficulties sometimes. Willow was for the most part, a well behaved little girl, so it wasn’t a big deal to spoil her a little here and there.

He bent down and unattached her from his leg, holding her in his arms.

“But we can’t stay long, alright? Mommy will be home from her doctor’s appointment soon and will want help with dinner. Deal?”

“Deal,” Willow nodded seriously.

They were welcomed warmly upon their entering and were told to feel free to walk around and interact with the animals. Willow was instantly in heaven.

“Hi dere,” she waved to one dog in a pen nearest to her.

The big German Shepherd came over, sniffing her hand briefly before licking it, causing Willow to giggle.

“Daddy it kiss me,” she beamed at Spencer.

“I see,” he chuckled, rubbing the friendly canine under his jaw.

Willow’s hand reached out between the pen bars, patting the snout of his nose. The dog gave a happy little bark, pleasing Willow.

“Bye bye doggie,” she waved again as they moved on to more residents.

Willow being her normal self had to stop at every pen she crossed, talking and playing with every animal in her path.

She giggled and patted the heads of a pen of puppies, squealed with delight when a kitten nuzzled against her hand and grinned from ear to ear when she got to pet a bunny. It even allowed her to kiss it on the nose. She got a little lick kiss back from the bunny making her scrunch her nose, claiming it tickled.

But Spencer knew he was in trouble when they came across one pen where a black and white fluffy cat laid. It peered at him and Willow curiously, but made no effort to get up to check out these new visitors.

“I wanna pet it,” she pouted, unable to reach her small arm far enough through the bars to the cat.

“This little guy is a new rescue,” one of the workers said, coming up to them, “He’s very hesitant to new people. In fact, he still hasn’t quite warmed up to anyone else. Would you like to go in and give him a treat though, honey?”

“Can I daddy?”

The young girl’s hopeful eyes looked up at Spencer.

“I don’t see why not,” he smiled.

“Just give me a second,” the worker replied before stepping away to fetch the treat.

A minute or so later, she returned with a treat in her hand and a key to unlock the pen.

“Just be gentle, okay sweetheart?” she told Willow.

Willow nodded seriously, walking into the pen.

“Here mista kitty. I have tweat. I pwomise not to bite.”

She sat down a bit further away from him than Spencer expected. He thought she would go in eager to pet the cat and startle or frighten it, but she was surprisingly gentle and patient with it.

He could see it had black ears and a ring of black around the center of its face. The outer edge of the cat’s face was white fluff. Its striking blue eyes were the most memorable part of it though.

“What breed is he?” Spencer asked, still watching Willow.

“We think he’s a Himalayan. It’s basically a mix of a Persian and a Siamese cat,” the worker answered.

He nodded, even though he didn’t have quite as much knowledge on cat breeds as he did statistics or serial killers.

Spencer was shocked to see movement from the cat. He had been sitting so silently, studying Willow, he was sure the cat had no interest in her. But slowly he stood, walking over to her.

It sniffed the treat in her outstretched palm before taking a small nibble.

“Can I pet you?” Willow asked sweetly.

Ever so gently, her hand rested on his back, stroking it softly. 

Spencer was always so surprised to see just how smart and compassionate she was, even to be such a young girl. Y/N would definitely say that she got all her heart from him, but Spencer liked to think she got a double dose from both of them resulting in her sweet nature.

“He’s so fluffy,” she giggled.

“He is,” Spencer nodded, imagining the mess of shedding this cat would cause.

She continued to pet him gently as he ate the treat out of her hand. 

Spencer didn’t know what it was, but something had made the feline trust his little girl and frankly he couldn’t be more proud of her.

“What’s his name?”

She tilted her face up at the woman, a questioning look on her face.

“Well, he doesn’t have a name yet. We were hoping he would be adopted soon and his new family could name him whatever they wanted.”

It was at that moment that the cat decided to climb into her lap and curl up. The look on Willow’s face said it all.

She was totally in love.

“Can we keep him? Pwease?”

He opened his mouth to protest, but when he saw the pleading look on her face combined with how at peace the cat looked, he knew he couldn’t say no. The cat had taken to Willow just as much as she’d taken to him.

“I guess we’re getting a cat.”

•

You had just gotten home from your latest check up and were walking in the door, when you spotted something out of the ordinary.

You were happy to know that baby boy was doing great and growing just as he should be. You couldn’t wait to be reunited with your boyfriend and little girl. It might just be the pregnancy hormones, but you always found yourself longing to be with the two of them, missing them so much even when you were only away for an hour or two, like today. It was like bad separation anxiety mixed with a need to constantly cuddle. Your happy place truly was with your little family and you just couldn’t get enough time with them.

You had set your keys on the counter and was getting ready to go look for Spencer and Willow, figuring they were home since you’d seen his car parked in the driveway.

You cut through the kitchen, heading towards the stairs, when something in your peripheral made you stop.

There was an open doorway from the kitchen into your living room, so you could see into the room. It always came in handy when keeping an eye on Willow playing when you were fixing dinner or cleaning.

What stopped you was a round ball of fluff in black and white, curled up on your couch.

“Spencer! Reid!” you hollered.

Moments after your yell, came the sound of your daughter’s feet on the stairs, her excited voice in competition.

“Mommy! Mommy! Mommy!”

She came barreling towards you when she’d descended the stairs, wrapping her arms around you, but more or less hugging your growing stomach.

“Hi baby,” you leaned down to pick her up.

She was definitely not a baby anymore. Picking up a toddler while five and a half months pregnant wasn’t ideal anymore.

Spencer soon followed her down the steps. You knew better than anyone that it was difficult to keep up with a three year old’s energy.

“Mommy we got a cat!”

“I see that,” you grinned tightly at her, shooting daggers with your eyes at Spencer.

“Uh honey why don’t you go keep him company, okay?” Spencer said.

“Okay!”

She wiggled in your arms until you set her down then ran into the living room.

“Before you get mad-” Spencer started.

“Spencer there’s a ball of fluff sleeping on my couch,” you said.

“Yes, I realize that.”

“A cat though, really? Look how furry it is! I’m gonna be cleaning fur up from everywhere.”

“I promise I have a good reason,” he answered sheepishly, “Willow wanted to visit a shelter that we passed by today after we went out for ice cream, so I thought it couldn’t hurt.”

You raised an eyebrow, curious to hear the rest. You weren’t mad, just a little bit aggravated that he hadn’t consulted you before bringing home a pet.

“Of course, you know her. She had to say hello and stop and visit with all the animals,” he rubbed the back of his neck before he continued, “Well she got to his pen and one of the shelter staff said that he was a rescue that seemed really wary of people and he hadn’t opened up to anyone yet.”

You had a feeling you knew where this was going.

“The lady asked if she wanted to give him a treat and of course she did. So she walks in and I’m thinking she’s gonna terrorize the poor thing just because she wants to pet him. But she didn’t. She just sat patiently a little ways away from him and let him come to her, which he eventually did. He sniffed her, ate the treat and let her pet him before he nuzzled her and curled up in her lap. How could I say no to her begging to keep him?”

You smiled, your heart warming at how gentle of a soul your little girl was. Spencer had a point. You knew you would’ve had a hard time saying no to her too, especially since he had seemed to warm up to Willow.

“He’s actually a really sweet cat. He let me pet him too. Also, the woman said he should be little trouble because he’s a very laid back breed that is known for loving kids and being good for children. He’s a total family cat, if that helps.”

“Alright, I can’t blame you. You’re just too wrapped around her little finger,” you chuckled, wrapping your arms around his neck, kissing his nose.

“That I am,” he smiled, a gentle kiss on your lips following.

“Well, I guess we’ll just be a family of five now,” you smiled.

“Speaking of,” he grinned, pulling back from your embrace enough to splay his hands across your belly, “How is my little Jay?”

“Growing like a weed, just like he should be.”

Ever since finding out the two of you were having a boy, the decision of a name was definitely a hot topic between you and Spencer. He wanted to name him Carl after Carl Sagan, which you up and refused.

But finally a name did come together with a few tweaks here and a little compromising there.

Little Jason Carl Reid—to be called Jay—, was named after the first mentor Spencer had in his early years in the BAU and of course, Carl Sagan. Little Jay was going to be the fourth member of your family, but now it seemed like he would be the fifth.

“I know you’re not thrilled about this, but I promise I’ll make it up to you. Anything you want.” 

He wrapped his arms around you, pulling you close.

“Ooh, anything I want? Would you still make it up to me even if I said I don’t mind the cat?”

You smirked suggestively, causing him to chuckle.

“Yes, yes I would. The pregnant woman always wins, I don’t make the rules.”

You grinned, going in for another kiss when your daughter’s squeals interrupted you.

“Mommy, look! Biscuit loves me!”

You and Spencer looked over to see Biscuit laying completely flat beside Willow on the couch. You had to admit, he did look pretty content.

“Biscuit?” you asked, shooting an amused glance in Spencer’s direction, wondering why on earth he’d let your three year old name the cat.

“Just glad we didn’t go with her first suggestion,” he deadpanned.

“Which was?”

“Sir Snuggleton.”

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[iamdunn]

Miraculous Flash Forward: Adrien Graham De Vanily

A Miraculous Fan-fic

Written By

AJ Dunn

The Agreste brand was gone as Felix stepped in to take over his uncle’s company at the behest of Adrien. Having shed off the name of that villainous man Adrien took his mother’s maiden name. Graham de Vanily. It only felt right to have his cousin who was a Graham de Vanily take over the company. He had more, business sense than Adrien. Not to mention Adrien had some things to attend to that meant staying out of the public eye. He and Felix had been identical their entire lives. It was weird although their mothers were identical twins. Felix and Adrien had different fathers as well. Felix’s father had died and Adrien’s mother remained in a coma. They had found her after his father had been captured. The miraculous’ had been returned to Ladybug who now held the miracle box as its guardian. 

Adrien looked down at his own miraculous. He often wondered if he should return it to her. The thought of returning to Paris hurt, but the thought of seeing her and the hurt he must have caused her. He couldn’t bear for her to hate him. So he stayed away. He had completed high school in London with his cousin then set off for horizons unknown after singing his cousin in as CEO of the former Agreste fashion brand. He could even stand in for Adrien as the new face. However, he didn’t have as much flair for modeling as Adrien did. 

“So you’re just going to leave me with YOUR company?” Felix asked with a wry smile. 

“Makes sense to me,” Adrien replied without looking at his cousin. It was hard enough to look in a mirror, worse to look at his identical cousin. Felix sighed.

“You can’t even look at me anymore Adrien,” Felix complained. “I know I have been… insufferable but this…” he held his hand up. 

“I’m sorry Felix you’re right.” Adrien felt ashamed. “It’s just hard.” He darted his eyes up to meet his cousins. His green eyes shown brightly, his silky blond hair slicked back in the same formal style his father always wore. Even his black suit and white shirt were straight and proper. A black-tie adorning his neck... He looked like a mannequin without even so much as a wrinkle or hair out of place. Sure he wore far less color than his father, who was a fashion designer. Felix was more… of the businessman than interested in fashion. While he still had a keen eye for it, he preferred to stick with the basics for himself. It was his way of separating himself from Gabriel Agreste. 

“So, you’re leaving then?” Felix asked coldly. He had gotten so used to having a “brother” living with him. It made for fun pranks right after Adrien moved in with him. They’d switch close. Adrien needed to laugh, he needed to make friends but it was hard for him having been sheltered for most of his life then yanked away from the only friends he ever knew. 

“In the morning.” Adrien zipped up his suitcase and set it by his bedroom door. Felix stood by the bed holding his hands behind his back spinning the silver band on his finger. Adrien wore the twin ring on his opposite hand. Felix noticed Adrien never took off the other silver ring he had. “My flight leaves at 7.” He looked at his watch. It was nearly time for dinner. “We should go, Aunt Amelie will be waiting.”

“Indeed, we won’t want to make mother wait.” Felix left the room first closing the door behind him. Adrien flipped the lock on the door then went to his mini-fridge. Only a couple of pieces left. He thought. 

“Plagg?” He asked the air. “You’re going to have to slack off on the stinky cheese for a while.” he could hear the groan coming from the mini closet to the side of his bed. He swung the door open looking in to see Plagg cuddled up on the Ladybug squishy pillow. “Hey that one is mine.” he snatched the squishy pillow and tossed it on the bed. Replacing it with a simple black round squishy pillow with a neon green pawprint in the middle. He had found them on Marinette’s website. She had designed them and Adrien couldn’t resist. Plagg pouted.

“This one isn’t as comfy as that one,” Plagg complained.

“I know you miss her, I miss Ladybug.” Adrien sat on the edge of the bed. “Maybe I should take you back.” he slouched forward placing his elbows on his knees.

“NO,” Plagg yelled. “I’m not leaving your side.”

“You might not have a choice Plagg.” he looked up at his little friend hovering only feet from his face. “Where I’m going, they don’t have stinky cheese,” Adrien smirked. Plagg looked shocked then crossed his arms and turned his head away.

“If you can walk away from Ladybug…” Plagg sighed, his arms dangling at his sides. “Then I can walk away from Camembert.” Plagg gulped his words. “As long as it’s not forever, you have to promise to go back.” Adrien chuckled.

“I will Plagg, I promise.” he stood up and headed for the door. “Let’s go eat.” Plag zipped into his shirt pocket as Adrien opened the door. 

The airport was nearly empty. Adrien had chosen this time so he could escape London without cameras following him everywhere. He had done well to avoid being in the public eye for the past few years. It wouldn’t be good if everyone in Paris found out that Adrien Agreste was leaving for China. Heaven forbid Marinette to follow him. She did have a great uncle there and he had planned to visit Cheng Sifu’s restaurant as often as possible. He found his boarding gate and took a seat in the corner where he was less likely to be spotted or recognized. He pulled his hoodie down over his eyes as whisps of his blond hair dared to expose him. He brushed them back the picked up a magazine. Marinette’s face struck him as he read the excerpt about her new company. Her designs were becoming a global sensation as his friends from his former band Kitty Section took the top spots on the chart and even knocked Jagged Stone down a peg or two. Adrien smile thinking about how proud he must be that his kids Juleka and Luka are succeeding him. There was a picture of the band. Juleka and Luka look very much the same, Rose too. Adrien’s eyes narrowed on a silver wedding band on Luka’s hand and his heart sank. Did he and Marinette get married? He closed the magazine and tossed it to the side. 

Boarding, call London to Shanghai now boarding.

Adrien stood by the window watching the sunset. He could feel Marinette standing next to him as he smiled. He looked over to her, but she wasn’t there. It was only a memory. One of his favorites. 

Adrien stepped out of the taxi at the address on his booking slip. He had leased a condo. It was paid up for the three years he planned to be here. Thanks to his trust fund which, luckily had been protected from the scandal caused by Hawk Moths’ deeds. It had been created by his mother instead of his father. Not to mention the funds from his days as a model. He didn’t have to worry about money. The now Graham De Vanily fashion industry was co-owned now, secretly of course. He wanted to maintain the guise that Adrien had disappeared in case Ladybug did in fact figure out he was Cat Noir. He couldn’t face her, not yet. 

Adrien marveled at the design of the building. It was very modern with the appearance of two bullet trains back to back. The walls were glass with a metal framework. The entrance was directly in the middle of the building. Adrien walked up to the door as bell boys scurried to his cab to grab his bags. He had taken off his hoodie so as to not look the part of a vagabond. 

“I am Adrien Graham De Vanily, I am supposed to pick up my keys from you.” He spoke Mandarin very well thanks to his father’s insistence. It helped that Master Fu and Cheng Sifu applauded him for it. Otherwise, he might have forced himself to forget it all. The guard nodded handing him a packet of papers and the keys. 

“Top floor, suite 1A.,” he told the busboys who hurried to the service elevator with his bags. “I just need you to sign a few papers here.” he slid the papers to Adrien over the counter then a pen. He signed them quickly. The guard pointed him to the resident elevators and he headed upstairs. The top floor was nearly empty as he walked down the hall to his condo. It would be his home for a while and while he had never lived on his own, he was used to being alone. He always had someone else to prepare his meals, and tend to the cleaning and daily maintenance of his home but now, he was on his own. It felt refreshing to not have to worry about close calls and coming up with excuses for the ripe smell of cheese all over everything. 

He couldn’t really complain, he was a cat kwami after all at least it wasn’t fish he was obsessed with, he’d never get the smell of rotten fish out of anything. He put the key in the door and opened it. He opened a sliding door to the right exposing a coat closet with a hanger for bags. He hung the bag closing the front door flipping the lock and deadbolt. 

“Hello,” he called there wasn’t a sound as he made his way into the living area. The room was lit with natural light exposing a room larger than the one he grew up in. The white marble carpeting was cushioned his steps as he inspected the seating. A black leather love seat with silver metal framing and two matching armchairs sat in a square around a glass table with the same silver metal for legs. There was a swirling black, tan, and gray rug under the table. The seating faced the wall opposite the window that covered the entire external wall. The daylight beamed in as he saw the entirety of Shanghai spread out for him to view. He walked to the break in the wall where sat two swinging glass doors leading to the balcony. He searched the area seeing rooftops laid out before him. He could easily leap between them and return to his room undetected. 

Returning to the sitting room he could see the large TV mounted on the wall. The art decor matched the black & silver theme. He saw the steppes leading up to the loft above the television and made his way up. The walls weren’t lined with bookshelves as his old bedroom had a bed but there was a walk-in closet and a king-sized platform bed against the wall with a railing over looking the seating area. The black slick bedside tables matched the black slick headboard with a silver bar slicing them in half. The bed was made up with a black with silver and white ivy weave bedspread. 

There was a bathroom to the far side of the unit next to a closed-off kitchen. The decal in the kitchen was white marble flooring with black marble countertops. Silver appliances finalized the theme. The bathroom might just have been bigger than the actual area of the bedroom as it comprised of a large standing shower and a jet stream tub. There counter held two sinks and medicine cabinets with another cabinet housing linens. Amelie had made all of the arrangements for the purchase and set up of the furnishing and linens, as well as the kitchen accessories. He opened the fridge. 

“Ah,” he said. “Looks like I will be doing my own grocery shopping Plagg,” he said aloud. No response. “It’s safe to come out Plagg.” the Kwam flew slowly over to him. A grumble came from the tiny stomach as he stared in horror at the empty fridge. 

“Are you trying to kill me?” Plagg groaned turning his back to Adrien crossing his arms. 

“Guess we’ll have to go out to eat.” Adrien closed the fridge and turned around. “Cheng Sifu’s?” 

“Fine.” he gruffed. “But we have to get some food before we come home.” he pointed demandingly at his owner. He was grateful to have one like Adrien, he couldn’t have imagined if Gabriel had found him and Tikki instead of Nuuroo and Duusuu. It would have been catastrophic.

They walked to the Metro and took to downtown. Adrien remembered the way to the restaurant from the last time he perused the city. He got off a few blocks from the restaurant and dipped into a mini-store. He couldn’t show up at Cheng Sifu’s empty-handed. He may have spoken Mandarin well, but he had no idea about cooking or ingredients.  He looked over various ingredients then settled on a bushed of leafy greens and grabbed a small block of Manchego for Plagg to try. He paid then headed down the sidewalk with his bag. Stepping into the restaurant which was bustling with patrons, Adrien made his way to the kitchen. 

“Cheng Sifu?” Adrien called to him in Mandarin. “I don’t know if you remember me…” 

“Adrien. My Marinette’s boyfriend.” Cheng came around the preparation counter and greeted him. Adrien’s face froze as his cheeks tinted with red. Cheng wrapped him up in a tight hug though now he was slightly taller than Cheng. Cheng, who was taller than his niece Sabine, was still a rather short and plump man. He was one of the world’s greatest chefs, but despite having been told many times that Adrien and Marinette weren’t dating, he never believed that. “How is my Marinette?”

“I … I actually haven’t…” He scratched the back of his neck as Cheng lead him into the back of the kitchen where a table was set with two chairs. Ingredients were laid out. “I haven’t seen her in two years,” Adrien announced finally. Cheng looked up saddened and confused. “I had to move away, because of… my father.” he sat down setting the bag on the table. He pulled out the leafy greens offering them to Cheng hoping this would change the subject. “Would you please teach me how to cook?” Cheng’s eyes widened as he accepted the fateful food items. 

They spend an hour preparing a meal with the ingredients Cheng had set out and the fateful ingredients Adrien had brought him. It had gotten late by the time the food was done so Cheng boxed some of it up so Adrien could take it home to eat. 

“You come back tomorrow and we make something else.” Cheng waved to Adrien as he left the restaurant. 

“Keep your promise.” Adrien reminded. He had asked Cheng to not tell anyone he was here until he was ready to go back. He promised to bring fateful food every day to learn how to cook. He wanted to impress Marinette when he went back. Adrien walked with his hands in his pockets, the bag with his food hung around his wrist. His hoodie pulled over his head as he snuck into an alleyway. He set the bag down.

“Plagg claws out.” He scooped up the bag and bound for the rooftop and slipped quietly through the shadows from one rood to another. He was on his way home when a sound caught his attention. He landed silently on the brick wall of a manor where a man was fighting off three assailants. The hand-to-hand combat of this martial art style was intriguing. He watched for a minute wondering if this man could handle himself or not. The three men seemed to be struggling as his efforts fought to subdue them. Cat Noir turned and was about to leave when he saw several more coming, this time with blades. Two of them with a saber or dao and one with a set of sai. He set his bag down without thinking another thought and dropped onto the backs of the three incoming assailants. Two of them hit the ground hard as the other tried to pull Cat off their backs. He side kicked the man in the chin sending him flying backward as he drove a single punch to the two now incapacitated assailants. The man fought off the others as they turned tail to run seeing can hovering over the unconscious bodies of their comrades. The man closed his palms together and gave a curt bow to Cat Noir in thanks. Cat returned making sure to bow lower in respect for the master. 

“Your arrival here tonight must be fate,” he said. “May I know the name of my rescuer?”

“I am called Cat Noir.” 

“Hei Mao.” You are welcome here anytime. I am Chao.” 

“Can you teach me Chao Sifu?” Cat bowed again. The man nodded curtly. “You come at night, under the cover of darkness, and I shall teach you, Hei Mao.” He turned and headed into the building. It was a small temple-looking house with an ancient appearance. Bamboo stalks and sand with stones decored the yard. A few koi ponds in the corners. He led Hei Mao to the back training ground. It was larger than the front and completely hidden from anyone outside the walls. Large trees cast their shadows over it as large stones and other terrain provided adequate advantage points for sparring and battling. 

“You meet me here after the sun goes down,” Chao said waving his hand around. “I can not start tonight. I must sit with the ancestors first.” He left Hei Mao. Mao returned to his bag and finished his trek back home. Ducking into an alley to transform back in the darkness so no one would see. 

#miraculous fandom #miraculous chat noir #adrienette #miraculous world #heimao

[coffeecomicsgalore]

A Little Rain, A Big Love Story

Ao3

This is my submission for the @luckycharmzine! I hope you enjoy the Ladynoir Identity Reveal Scene.

------

Ladybug looked across the dark Parisian skyline, allowing the cool breeze to sweep over her. It was still fairly warm out, the heat of the summer day seeping into the night. The cool breeze felt welcomed against her exposed skin.  

Chat Noir sat beside her as they relaxed on their favorite beam on the Eiffel Tower. As usual, it was an easy night of patrolling. There was nothing besides a stray cat stuck in a tree and two young boys arguing over a pack of trading cards. They didn’t have to stress over an akuma or deal with police-solving issues. So, when they have nights like this – quiet, peaceful, and relaxing – it made their conversations quite comforting. 

While they couldn’t talk much about their civilian lives and risk revealing too much, they did enjoy giving each other a glimpse of themselves. It would only be little things, like favorite colors, snacks, or subjects. Things that were common enough that neither could guess easily, yet they still relished in those little tidbits of information. 

Trusting yourself in your partner without knowledge of who they were underneath the mask was a risk, but Ladybug would risk her life for him on any occasion. 

If he would let her, that is. 

“You know.” Chat started, continuing to look towards the skyline as he spoke. “You would really like my friends. We are so close. I don’t know what I would do without them.” He ended with a satisfied hum as his lips quirked into a small smile. 

Ladybug looked over to her partner and grinned. He looked so at peace tonight. It was a pleasant change to their last conversation where he seemed distressed and distracted. She missed it when her kitty didn’t ooze silliness out of his suit. 

“I know what you mean.” She looked back out to the skyline as he turned to look at her. “Do you remember that boy I had that major crush on?” 

“You mean the one that never gave you the time of day?” 

She scoffed and pushed his shoulder teasingly. “Chat!” 

He chuckled. “Alright, alright. Go ahead.” 

Ladybug side-eyed him for a moment. When she felt like he wasn’t going to continue teasing, she proceeded. “Well, over the last two years, especially after me trying to get over said crush on him, we grew closer. I consider him to be one of my best friends. Like so close that he is a close tie to my best girlfriend. But I won’t tell her that. I enjoy my life too much to succumb to imminent death.” They both laughed. “But anyways, he said something today and it reminded me of you. I think you two could be close friends.” 

“Why? Does he have amazing puns like moi?” He joked, bringing his hand to his chest as he mentioned himself.  

“Actually, yeah. I didn’t even know he could joke like that. But you would appreciate his puns. Sometimes I think he could probably out-pun you.” 

“Out pun the pun master? Never.” 

“I know of one other person that could probably out pun you, chaton. But I can’t mention who.”  

“I guess I will have to battle your friend in a pun duel then. I need to keep this knight and shining leather fighting by your side, puns and all.” 

Ladybug shook her head. “I have enough room in my heart for all three of my pun masters. No dueling required. I promise.” 

They sat in a comfortable silence for a moment before Chat noticed that her face softened, but her eyes meant she was a distance away. 

“You okay, bugaboo?” He inquired, just enough softness in his voice to allow her to talk her feelings through, but also enough to show her he wouldn’t pry. 

She sighed, but decided to tell him. “Even though he’s my best friend, a part of me will always love him. Do you know how difficult it is to force yourself to move on considering he’s constantly in my life? Of all the people that have come into my life, no one has caught my eye or my heart like he has.” Ladybug turned to him. Chat could see the sadness in her face. “Actually. There has been one other person, but it’s just not possible. At least not right now.” 

Chat eyed her with a mix of fondness and sadness. Seeing her feel like this broke his heart, and he knew exactly how she felt.  

“I know what you mean.” He looked back towards the sky, the last two years crossing his mind. The relationships he had made and lost were pressing against his heart and he ached from the pain. “Letting go of the one you love, especially when they’ve made a significant impact in your life, is hard. But love has never been easy. No matter how much you try to move on, it still lingers.” 

Ladybug turned to Chat and took his hand, squeezing the love she had for him through her fingers. “I love you, Chat, more than you can begin to know. But you have to understand, you were never meant to be second best. You deserve someone who will love you with their whole heart.” She looked down and laughed bitterly. “And unless luck is truly on my side, maybe the boy I love is really you beneath the mask. Once Hawkmoth is defeated, I want to know who you are. You will always have a place in my life and my heart no matter how this chapter of our lives end.” 

They gazed into each other’s eyes as her words etched themselves into the spot in his heart reserved for her. Chat was the first to break the gaze, looking back out into the Parisian skyline as a comfortable silence mingled between them. When Chat finally swallowed the strangling pain in his throat, he confessed. 

“You know. I’ll always love you, bugaboo. A part of me always had. It always will. I’ve tried to move on and date other people, but no one besides this one girl, my best friend, has ever caught my eye.” 

Ladybug looked at him and smiled even as a twinge of jealousy ran through her body. She shrugged it off and placed her head on his shoulder. Their fingers laced together as they enjoyed the small embrace. If she couldn’t love him in the way they both wished she could, she could at least love him like this. “That girl is lucky to have your heart.” 

They sat there in another comfortable silence before Chat scrunched his face and let out a breathy chuckle. 

“What’s so funny?” She asked, lifting her head up from his shoulder to look at him. 

“Well, it has something to do with that girl. You know, I don’t think anyone knows this, so I think I’m in the clear to say it.” Ladybug scrunched her nose, but then decided it would probably be fine. She gave him a nod to continue. “She became my first self-initiated friend when I started school. There was a huge misunderstanding. I almost lost her friendship before building one.” 

“That seems extreme. What happened?” 

“On my first day, she thought that I was trying to target her. She had always been bullied by one of my longtime friends, so she assumed I was the same way. Believe it or not, I’m socially awkward. I didn’t know any of the dos and don’ts of making friends.”  

Ladybug could see his face visibly soften. 

“It was raining and we were the only two standing outside as I was leaving to go home. I don’t know why, but something just compelled me to talk to her, to tell her that I didn’t have any friends, that everything was still so new to me. I almost left but then turned around. I told her I was sorry that I made her believe that I played a cruel prank on her. I told her that I only had one friend before that day and at the time, I didn’t want to lose that friendship either.” 

Chat continued to look out at the skyline, but Ladybug had caught on to something interesting about his story. It was one that was strangely similar to her own story. One that no one else would know of. 

“Once I apologized, I gave her the umbrella I had. I mean, my car was right there so it didn’t bother me to get a little wet. But I just didn’t want her to get soaked going home and I didn’t know how long the rain was going to be around for. I didn’t know where she lived and I didn’t realize that she lived so close to the school, but I couldn’t just let her get soaked.” 

He let out a lovesick sigh and let out a chuckle before looking down at his claw to examine his ring. “Honestly, I think that was the first moment that I started to fall for her. I just didn’t realize it because I was so infatuated with you.”  

Ladybug looked to him with such softness. Tears were welling up in her eyes and a blush donned her cheeks. Chat looked up at her and started to worry, afraid that he said something he shouldn’t. 

“That moment is a moment too beautiful to forget.” She said, wiping the tears that started to fall in front of her mask. “She is lucky to have such a caring person in her life, chaton.” 

Chat finally smiled. “Yeah, she’s so caring that I’m afraid to lose her. She’s shy around me sometimes. I’m afraid that she’ll reject me if I ask her out.” 

“I think you should ask anyways. I bet she’ll say yes.” 

He thought for a moment before asking her. “What about you?” 

“I guess since you told me about your bestie, I should tell you about mine.” She snickered. “Every time I tried to confess to him, something went wrong. Like this scarf I made him, or the valentine I tried to send him, or the doctor’s note I gave him instead of a love confession, the video love confession that got deleted. Oh, and the beret... it just never worked out before.” She shrugged. 

Guess it doesn’t matter now because she could finally confess without having to do it first.  

“You see. I fell in love with this boy who I thought was a bully. I thought he put gum on my chair and was a prissy rich kid because he was best friends with the girl who hated my guts. But then he apologized and handed me his umbrella in the rain. That simple act of kindness and his laughter after I accidentally pressed the close button on the handle filled my soul with so much love, that I couldn’t let it go.” 

Ladybug turned to Chat to see that he was wide eyed and jaw slacked. 

“No wonder why I couldn’t let it go.” She smiled with so much love in her eyes that she could not contain the giggle that bubbled up within her. “I guess I was lucky after all.” 

“Marinette?” He said so quietly, afraid that the conversation would crack and leave them in a different world. 

“Hi Adrien.” She replied back softly. 

Chat cupped her cheek with his claw and rubbed his thumb against the line between her mask and her skin. “It’s really you. I fell in love with you twice.” 

“And I never stopped loving you. My love only grew.” 

He leaned in and nuzzled his nose against hers. She sighed at the contact, her eyes pleading. He leaned in and kissed her lips, slow and soft but full of love and want. When they pulled back, they looked at each other as rain started to fall around them, the clasp of thunder bringing them back to that very first moment that sealed their fate. 

“My lady. I love you.” 

“I love you too, my chaton.” 

#luckycharmzine #ladynoir #identity reveal #rain #umbrella scene #love confessions #miraculous ladybug fanfiction #ml

[gabriel-agreste-has-no-rights]

(Not a new fic, I just keep forgetting to officially post this one here)

Rating: T

Summary:  Ladybug's suit doesn't have any arch support. Luckily, she has a supportive partner who can help.

Word Count:  2262

Notes: Breaking my usual silly reveal fic brand for some ladynoir fluff.  Inspired by lnc2’s tumblr post: https://gabriel-agreste-has-no-rights.tumblr.com/post/190301790972/lnc2-lnc2-chat-noir-has-boots-but-what-about

Please ignore the fact that I may be misinterpreting Mister Bug and Lady Noire’s costume designs as well, it’s vaguely plot relevant lol

XXX

Long-distance akumas were the worst. She and Chat had swung, vaulted, and ran all the way across Paris to catch Cyclone, an akumatized cyclist upset he’d lost his place in the Tour de France.  A very very fast cyclist, thanks to Hawkmoth’s assistance.

“I think we should switch kwamis again,” Marinette grumbled as she dropped down to sit on the roof, her legs dangling off the side like the deadweight they were.  

“You know if you ever want to wear the clown costume all you have to do is ask.” Chat Noir smirked as he plopped down beside her, one foot resting over his knee. “I doubt I could’ve come up with what you did with the laundry detergent, though. I probably would’ve just asked for a jet pack. Or a motorcycle. Ooh, or maybe—”

“The Lucky Charm doesn’t work like that.”

“Maybe not for you. Maybe I just know what I want.” He leaned into her space, and it looked like he might have been wiggling his eyebrows, but it was hard to tell under his mask.

Marinette bit back a laugh and pushed him back by the nose. “Nice try.  I know exactly what I want in that regard, kitty.”

That statement was… not quite as true as it used to be.  She knew she was after blond hair and soft green eyes, after someone who was kind and sweet and selfless.  But before she’d realized it, the model smiles and loose t-shirts in her dreams were joined by teasing smirks and tight leather.

...But it was just because she spent so much time with Chat, that’s all.  For all the distance she’d tried to keep, it was hard to resist getting closer to him.  He was her best friend.

“The akuma right has nothing to do with it though,” she went on before she could fall down that rabbit hole again. “Well I guess it does a little. Sort of. I mean—I want your boots.”

Chat blinked. “I don’t think they’d fit you, Bug.”

“I mean,” she huffed, gesturing to her own suited feet, “I have no arch support whatsoever. The miraculous cure might fix the akuma’s damage, but I’m still left with two slabs of pain hanging at the end of my legs.”

They had (separately) dropped their transformations to feed their kwamis before suiting up again, but that hadn’t eased her aching feet either.  She was still really, really not looking forward to making it all the way back home. 

“Let me get this straight,” Chat said with a stifled snicker, “you want to borrow Plagg so your transformation will give you real shoes.”

“Hey, I’d like to see you run around my suit and not complain.  And your Mister Bug transformation doesn’t count.  Tikki gave you boots.”  She crossed her arms.  

He leaned back on his palms and smirked.  “Careful, Bugaboo.  I’m flattered you’re jealous of me, but green really isn’t your color.”

She shoved his arm, sending him flopping back on the roof with a laugh.

“I regret asking.  You keep the clown costume.”

He tucked his hands behind his head before flashing a wink.  “You just know you’d miss seeing me in black leather.”

“You’re impossible, you know that?”  She rolled her eyes, which kept her gaze from where Chat was stretched out, practically begging to be stared at.  She’d hate for her expression to prove him right.

“Im-paw-ssible, you mean.”  He gave a lopsided grin.  Yep, she could just focus on that, and not the way he was lounging like he was attempting to recreate one of Adrien’s model poses… and succeeding…

(Even best friends weren’t supposed to stare at each other like that, were they?)

His voice snapped her out of ogling him.  “If your feet really hurt, though, there’s always something else you could ask.”

“I already tried.”  She sighed.  If nothing else, the pain in her feet was also a good distraction from her unfairly attractive partner.  “Tikki can’t change the suit at this point.  Not unless I can drastically change how I see myself, but I can’t perform the mental gymnastics to pull that off.”

“I wasn’t talking about Tikki.”  He sat up abruptly and held out his hand.  “You know I’ll support you, even if your footwear won’t.”

Her nose scrunched.  “Sorry, Chat, but I don’t think moral support is going to heal my feet.”

“I didn’t mean moral support.  Foot massage, no strings attached.  For my partner who carries the whole world on her shoulders without even an insole.”

He beamed at her, as if rubbing her stinky, sweaty feet would be a favor to him.  

She shook her head.  “You really don’t have to, Chat.  My feet are disgusting.”  Especially after dashing across Paris all afternoon.  Her soles had to be caked in grit from every street in the city. 

“You could never disgust me, my Lady.”  He grinned dopily.  It should be illegal for him to show that kind of adoration with just a smile.  It was getting harder and harder to remember why she kept rejecting her partner.

Because you’re still in love with Adrien.  Because she couldn’t give Chat the kind of unwavering devotion he already showed her.  And because he didn’t deserve anything less.

...But he did offer the foot rubs with no strings attached.  With the way her feet were throbbing, to turn him down would be nothing but an act of pride.

“Alright, but don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

She kicked her feet up into his lap.  The suit protected her from the rough concrete and debris her feet were constantly exposed to, but the magical fabric barely dulled the soft touch of her partner’s hands.  All things considered, they’d shared weirder touches—they’d been tied up and tangled together more times than she could count at this point—but something about his soothing ministrations felt more intimate than she expected.  Maybe she’d just expected him to play a prank and tickle her, but this…

“If I would’ve known you’d do this, I would have asked you ages ago.”  Her voice was a little breathless as she laid back perpendicular to him.  His thumbs continued to massage heavenly patterns into the arch of her foot.

“So you’ll admit my hands are good for something besides using Cataclysm?”  His voice was teasing, but she didn’t care. Her foot had never felt this good. How much pain had built up there over the weeks and months of akuma fights?  

More importantly, how could she convince Chat to make this a regular thing?

“Yes,” she breathed.  “Where did you learn how to do this?  You have a side job as a masseuse?”

He chuckled but kept up the motion of his magical hands.  “Old friend, actually.  She always found ways to make me give her foot rubs when we were younger.”

“Lucky girl,” Marinette murmured, her eyes slipping closed.  He moved his attention to her other foot, working his way up from her heel towards her toes.  If this was how good Chat was with her feet…

Nope, nope, she was not letting that train of thought out of the station.

“Don’t worry, LB, your feet are much cuter than hers.”

“Please tell me you don’t have a weird thing for feet,” she blurted, apparently having lost her filter to his hands.

He just laughed, though.  “Only yours,” he said, and then she felt something soft press to the top of her big toe.

“Chat!”  She sprung upright to see him winking again before pulling his lips back from her foot.  “Gross!  You don’t know where that’s been!”

That only made him laugh harder—so hard he was actually gasping for breath.  “Your face!”

She snapped her jaw shut, only then realizing how dumbly she’d been gaping.  “You kissed my foot!  What did you expect me to do?”

“I kiss your hand all the time.”  He shrugged, his grin turning sly.  “So unless you have a thing for feet…”

“Oh my gosh, Chat, shut up.”  She covered her blushing cheeks, mostly just disappointed that there was no way she could both keep her dignity and ask him for another foot massage.

“I wouldn’t tell.  I’d give you alllll the foot rubs you want.”

“Tempting,” she muttered.

“Hmm?  What was that?”

She glared out from between her fingers, but couldn’t tell from his teasing grin if he’d actually heard her or not.

“I was just wondering,” she said, beginning to spin a plan in her mind.  “Foot massages aren’t that hard, really. Of course you’d be good at them.”

His grin fell to a pout.  “What are you getting at?”

“I mean, a real challenge would be giving a good neck and shoulder massage.  It takes a strong enough touch to ohhhhhhhh…”

She was gone.  He’d moved to kneel behind her, his fingers angled to keep his claws from pricking her as he dug into the knots that had been afflicting her for ages.  Anxiety and tension unraveled under the circular motions of his thumbs.

“What was that, Bugaboo?”  He whispered near her ear, sending shivers down her spine—shivers that he could probably feel, considering his hands had moved closer together to massage between her shoulderblades.

“You’re… terrible.”  

“Mm-hm.  I guess I should just stop, then—”

“Don’t you dare.”

Gone, gone, gone.  And from her quick response, he had to know it too.

His hands paused for half a second before starting again.

“As my Lady wishes,” he purred.

He didn’t hold back.  His fingers dug deep into muscles tight from use, pressing hard enough to make her wince at times.  But it still felt like heaven.  Why was she not dating this boy, again?

Bad Marinette, she told herself.  You can’t date your partner just to take advantage of his back rubs.  Or the fact that he’s hot.  Or the fact that he would literally die for you, and has proved so on several occasions.

Or the fact that he’s madly in love with you.  Can’t forget that.

Those reasons were not listed in order of importance, but they were rather compelling.  Particularly with his touch melting away her more rational objections.

She wasn’t sure how long it was (not long enough) when his hands finally stilled, resting with his thumbs gently brushing the curve of her shoulderblades.

“What do you say?  Did I pass the test?”  He asked, sounding a little self-conscious now.

Test of what?  Seeing if he could turn her into a puddle?  The answer to that was a definite yes, but she’d prefer to keep that information confidential for at least a little longer.

“Y-yeah.  Thanks, kitty.”  

Her skin missed his warmth as he drew back.

“Anytime, Bugaboo.”  

It sounded like he really was willing to let that be the end of that.  No strings attached.  But—

“I still owe you,” she said, tucking her legs under her and turning to face him.

“I had a feeling you’d say that,” he replied with a chuckle.  “You never do like to accept help, even from me.  Or maybe it’s especially from me…”

“That’s not it.”  She shook her head, scooting closer.  Was that really what he thought?  “We’re partners, Chat.  I just don’t want to take more than I give.”

“You give me plenty, Ladybug.”  His voice turned serious as his hand inched towards hers, before coming to rest on the concrete roof just a centimeter away.  “Just getting to spend time with you outside of fighting akumas is a treasure.  I wouldn’t ask for anything more than that.”

Despite his usual outrageous flirting, she knew that was true.  If she ever wanted him to stop, he would.

But she’d never wanted him to.  Maybe because she knew deep down, she’d been falling for him all along.

“Hmmmm.”  She looked away, out towards the sunset horizon.  “That’s too bad.”

“Huh?”

A grin tugged at her lips.  “I hear your Lucky Charm gives you exactly what you ask for.”

Out of the corner of her eye, she watched his expression turn from confusion, to shock, to hope.

“And you… know what I’d ask for, right?”

Her shrug screamed nonchalance.  She could only hope it would cover up the pounding of her heart.  

“I’ve got a pretty good idea.”

Maybe she couldn’t give Chat her whole heart yet.  And maybe part of her was being selfish, worn down by his teasing smiles and melting hands.  But… she had a feeling that if she let down this last barrier, it wouldn’t be long before she was giving him the same smitten look he directed at her now.

“Will you go out with me, my Lady?”  His hands were clasped beneath his chin, his tone practically begging.  It almost made her regret what she was about to say.  But she couldn’t let him off that easy.

“That depends.”  

Her quick reply startled him—but not as much as the soft, slow kiss she pressed to his cheek.  

She decided that she absolutely adored the stunned look on his face, the pink blooming beneath his mask, his golden eyelashes fluttering.  He was still gaping when she tossed one last wink over her shoulder.

“Can you catch me now that my feet are feline good again?”

And he was still gaping when she tossed her yo-yo out to the next roof.

“Ladybug, wait—!”

She was done waiting.  Maybe he had a point about the Lucky Charm—he’d always known what he wanted.  She’d always gotten what she needed.

Finally, it seemed those two things were one and the same.

#fic tag #tali writes #ladynoir #love square #miraculous ladybug #chat noir #ladybug #still really happy with this one

[jokin-around]

1am trek to Rite-aide in a Batman kigurumi for a bottle of cold syrup and some ice cream

Fic under the cut🎉🎉 ⬇⬇⬇

Read on AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19826074 

from beneath a pile of blankets a color drained clown groaned miserably, the sound somewhat muffled by the assortment pretty plastic bobbles filling up the half deflated kitty pool they laid in haphazardly.

The clown in question was Gotham's very own mage of mischief. and much as pain played into his game he absolutely HATED being sick.

Funny thing was, Jay didn’t ever get sick. Period.

With the slew of mystery chemicals constantly floating around in his blood he’d always thought he’d be immune to something as innocuous as a cold. yet here he was stewing in misery, surrounded by a sea of used tissues.To say this was the first time he'd spent the wee hours of the night feeling like garbage would be a lie, but it was definitely the first time he’d felt so unprepared for an ailment.

All that considered, He wouldn’t mind the discomfort if he wasn't so hopelessly bored and… not to mention… alone.

Harley, who was probably busy gardening at the moment, hadn’t answered his calls and none of the other rogues would bother coming to his aid if he asked… they didn't like him very much. He didn’t know why and hardly cared but right now he honestly wished he was better at making friends. Of course, Bud, his lovely hyena who was snoring audibly in the other corner of the room, kept him company on long lonely days, but a dog’s unconditional love could only go so far.

He’d been in his room for hours at this point but as the bat shaped clock on his wall struck 1:00 Jay finally decided he’d had enough.

Throwing the blankets aside, sending foam balls bouncing around the room in the process, Jay sat up, hair a mess, rings around his tired eyes, and stood. Trying his best to ignore the how the world spun like a fun top.

He didn’t need Harley or ANY of those other stupid bozo’s. He could fend for himself just fine and he wasn't about to let some stupid head cold keep him down. Without any further thought Jay grabbed his coat, put on shoes, and headed out the door with a pop-gun in his pocket, looking an absolute mess. Grateful for Gotham's shady midnight darkness --------------------------------

It didn’t take long for the clown to reach his destination, Nite-aid pharmaceuticals was right down the street, just close enough to glide the whole way on a pair of unsteady heelys.

When he entered the store the place was mostly empty except for a few unfortunate stragglers. Night owls looking for late-night smokes and liquor as busted fluorescent lights buzzed and flickered above them... A few patrons turned to glance at him warily, not recognizing the clown out of makeup but suspicious nonetheless. Their failure to turn-tail at first sight would be a mistake they'd soon regret as the unkempt clown lifted his pop-gun in the air and lazily pulled it's trigger.

Now a normal play pistol would’ve gone off with an amusingly harmless pop, but Jay liked to personalize his toys. When the cork shot out the sound pierced through the nights silence like a firecracker, a waft of confetti and billowing green smoke flying up with it in an explosion of noxious, candy scented, color.

The fumes quickly spread through the small store, hot boxing it with chemicals that sent all who breathed it into a frenzied fit. The few unlucky customers present dropped anything they held and nearly toppled over each other as they ran screaming with laughter into the night.

At the back though, a store clerk, who seemed to be bared behind his counter, gagged and giggled as he writhed on the floor with his arms clenched around his sids, too disoriented by now to jump to freedom or even unlatch the door leading out.

As Joker came closer the man backed up, amused yet scared half to death of what would happen as the clown peered over the counter and examined him silently.

A few beats passed before Joker let out a small sigh and mentally made a note to tweak his smilex a tad as he wordlessly opened the gate and let the poor, gasping, employee run free, watching him trip over his own feet a few times as he did. His patented giggle concoction seemed a little too potent this time around, he’d have to fix it sometime….

Soon the joint was empty and joker was alone once more. The whole store now nuisance free and it’s contents perfectly ripe for the taking.

Humming a tune to himself Jay sashayed over to the medicinal isle and eyed over his options. All the keysmashed names and multicolored boxes seemed to meld together the longer he stared. he had no idea which one would be his miracle cure and the way his head swirled made it hard to concentrate on all the teeny-tiny words in front of his heavy feeling eyes. Instead of thinking Jay took a bag and filled it with whatever looked right. If he overdosed on Benadryl and Tylenol instead of Nyquil, so be it.

Before heading out Jay decided to take anything else he thought he might need to feel better including a pint of mint-chocolate chip ice-cream from the fridges in back, a page of funnies and a bargain bin DVD copy of Roger Rabbit .

--------------------------

As Jay walked out he heard a low rumble coming from a few blocks away, before he was able to recognize the telltale roar of the Batmobile, the powerful car had already charged its way down the street swerving to a sudden screeching halt in front of the small drug store as blinding headlights pointed directly at Jay, temporarily disorienting the already discombobulated clown and exposing his unfortunate appearance.

As Jay clumsily shielded his eyes a dark figure exited the tech loaded vehicle and slowly floated closer. Soon a tall shadow loomed over him, blocking the stunning beams of light. Jay slowly peered up to meet a pair of cold blue slits.

"Batman..…?" said Jay, sounding somewhat surprised despite knowing better

“Shoulda known you’d be here…. you're not gonna arrest me are you?" He asked pitifully

The Bat seemed to examine him for a moment, blue lenses eyeing him up and down. Jay was suddenly very aware of how he must have looked, he hadn't combed his hair, or shaved, or bathed, he was 99% percent sure he'd grabbed a mix-matched pair of heelys on the way out and he was currently wearing a jacket over a onesie despite the fact he was cooking like a hotdog in a microwave, evident by the beads of cold sweat trailing down his face….

His bare, scar riddled, face….

He began to turn red with embarrassment as he averted his weary gaze from the other man's calculated scrutiny, shoulders tensing

"Look are you gonna do your thing or can I take my stolen goods and go?" He asked impatiently, exhaustion in his voice

"My Bat-monitor says you have a 104 degree fever" the Bat states. No inflection.

"right, Which is why I need to get home like, now- " a large hand placed itself on his shoulder as he crouched to collect his stuff from the ground

"What you NEED is medical attention" Batman insisted, gently firming his grip. Jay, stood up, shaking his head in protest despite feeling more and more lightheaded with every passing second

"n-no I-I'm fine, i'll be fine! I just need t- "

Before he could protest further, handcuffs were promptly clasped around his limp wrists with a snug click, Jay looked at his shiny new bracelets and gave Bruce a sharp glare.

"bastard." he grumbled

"You'll thank me later." Bats stated cooly as he took the clown by the scruff of his hood and escorted him to the Batmobile. Jay struggled slightly at first, ragdolling as the Bat pulled him along, the fight in him quickly dissipated though as his energy slowly faded and he realized how shortsighted he'd been to not expect a situation like this. Of course the Bat would be here. you could hardly J-walk in this city without his big dumb ears hearing about it somehow.

But despite the inconvenience he wasn't mad… just… unprepared

he and the Bat had a special little relationship and after the day he'd had, that flowing black cape could be considered a sight for sore eyes. But this particular situation was a little different from their usual routine. Up there on the rooftops they were perfectly matched equals. Jay fast and unpredictable, Bats strong and disciplined. right now, as Jay was silently chauffeured to an impressive looking street demon, the scales were tipped, and instead of being fast he was weak and slow and practically nodding off by the time Bats gently placed his body in it’s passenger seat.

The rumble of the monsters powerful engine shook Jay from his daze and his unfocused eyes were greeted by a colorful array of buttons and knobs that decorated the car's interior.

"Ooohh" he awed quietly

"Don't. Touch. ANYTHING." The Bat warned sternly.

"Fuuuh-INE" he complained. "You don't mind if i eat in here tho right?" He asked as he fished into his bag and took out his pint of ice cream.

Batman shot him a look of disapproval.

"Ah, Don't worry- " Jay assured as he struggled to get the tub open "I won't get any on your p-precious lea-ther interio- " a bout of violent coughs interrupted his snarky remark…

The Bat sighed

"here, let me" he took the tub and quickly ripped it open, before placing it back in Jays lap

"OH HO HO thanks, Armstrong." He teased

"Whatever… Just pipe down and take this." Bruce reached into his glorified fanny pack and pulled out a small green pill.

Jay eyed it curiously.

"S' not some funky sedative is it?" He asks cautiously

Bruce shook his head….

"It's a… chemical agent I made special for you… I uh… mix it with my sedatives to counteract your resistance to them… it won't put you to sleep but It should have the same effect on those meds i’m paying for" he explained, nodding at the cherry flavored syrup Jay swiped.

With a bit of hesitation Jay picked up the small capsule and eyed it further. It was rather large and filled with a bright green gel.

"....well that's pretty... thoughtful of you I guess. "

Bruce looked away briefly, he'd created the compound last time Jay was out cold on his operating table using a sample of his blood. He'd put it to other uses since, but it had ultimately saved the clown's life last time around… that said he should've known Jay might find his over-preparedness odd

After a few beats of silence, Jay bit the bullet, washing it down with a scoop of ice cream. Help from the Bat, no matter how uncalled for, was usually help he could trust, besides he thought it was funny how often the Bat modded his tech just for his sake. Was it obsessive? Romantic? he couldn’t tell, but he was definitely flattered…

With a small contented smile on his face, Bruce turned back to the wheel and revved his engine "Alright clown... buckle up"

-------------------------------------------------------------------

It didn't take long for the two to arrive at the Batcave. The ride there quick and uneventful. Bruce didn’t have to bother with a blindfold or knockout gas to cover his tracks, Jay had passed out about halfway there and even then, it wouldn't have mattered much. He was sure Jay already knew it’s location despite being in the dark about...other things.

Exiting the car and stalking to the other side with his cape flowing behind him. Bruce opened the door to the passenger seat and watched as the winged doors lifted to reveal a sleeping figure cradling a half melted pint of ice cream.

“Is this the 'guest' you mentioned earlier sir?” Alfred inquired as he came to greet his kevlar clad son.

“It is.” He answered softly as he slowly lifted the pint from the clowns arms and handed It to the older man

"You somehow failed to mention the guest in question was your colorful new nemesis” the servant jested, raising a brow

"Uh… Forgot to I guess" Bruce shrugged, knowing full well he’d swept a detail or two under the rug to avoid another scolding from his free-spoken butler.

There was a pause of silence as they both watched the peaceful perriot rest

“...If only he was this quiet all the time, Gotham would be a much less hectic place… “ said Alfred after a moment.

“Perhaps” said Bruce. eye’s never breaking away as his chest rose and fell

Alfred, of course, had more to say but decided to keep it to himself as not to sour the moment he was having.

“Well this is going in the fridge... a pot of hot soup should be ready shortly. Just enough for the both of you”

“Thanks al”

Alfred nodded then went on his way as Bruce turned his attention back to Jay.

Although he was used to seeing the jolly jester in a more upkept state, he had to admit he was… striking... even like this…

When that perpetually cheery smile of his finally relaxed, it was replaced by soft supple lips and butter knife sharp cheekbones that framed his face in a way rarely seen outside of hollywood.

Gingerly, Bruce reached beneath his guest and lifted him from his seat.

It always surprised him how light he was, not that Jay was very big to begin with but… the way he threw a punch, took hits like they were nothing… it made it easy to forget he was only about 5'4"... perhaps even smaller minus the mane of hair that currently draped over his tired face

With the rest of the man’s features veiled, Bruce’s eyes were drawn to the two deep scars which curled from the corners of his mouth like a jagged grin. They were long healed but Bruce had a feeling the wounds cut deeper than eyes could see...

As Bruce thumbed away a few stray locks of green to get a better look, Jay began to stir. Hurriedly Bruce stepped over to the med bay section of the cave and laid his guest down before his eyes began to flutter open

"W-where?" He asked groggily as his vision focused

"Batcave."

“Again?” He muttered while sitting up “This gonna be a regular thing?”

“Were you expecting a hospital?” Bruce asked.

Jay rubbed his face

“guess not….” Hospitals we’re never really an option for people like them he supposed. Too many nosy doctors and prodding hands… bad memories...

“Here” a small cup of cherry liquid appeared in front of him, held by a black glove. He took it slowly.

“Can't have the whole bottle??”

“Why would you want to?”

Jay shrugged and took the shot

“I dunno…”

Bruce let that comment slide and stepped closer to check his temperature again.

"How are you feeling?"

" terrible" Jay replied miserably. Bruce looked at his monitor, the clown was stable at about 105°. It wasn't common for a cold to come with a fever but Jay was... an uncommon person.

" think a cool shower might help?"

The clown smiled "...mm… maybe…. You aren't offering to join me are you?"

Bruce scoffed "Not with you like this I'm not…"

Jay rose an eyebrow.

"er… not that I would if you…. Weren't…" Bruce's cheeks went pink for a moment. Though he'd looked away he could tell Jay was smiling even wider. Probably holding in a laugh too.

"Uhm...alright uh… washroom's that way, use what you want, shampoo, conditioner, whatever, I can always buy more"

Jay hopped down from the table and stretched with a moan

"I'm sure you can, rich boy."

"Huh?" Bruce tensed, taken aback by the term usually used to describe his alter ego.

"being best buds with Bruce Wayne must have some pretty sweet perks"

Bruce sighed, allowing himself to breath again as Jay made his way to the shower "right.."

_____________

It didn't take long for Jay to return, He made quick work of cleaning up and was soaped, rinsed and dried within a few minutes. His greasy mop now a fluffy, blow dried, up-do And his mind fog free.

The bouncy mane of curls caught Bruce's attention as the clown re-entered the main room, freshly scrubbed, lemon scented and humming a tune.

"You look a little better…. " Bruce complimented

"Just a little?" Said Jay, faking disappointment.

"Uh… w...well" Bruce stammered.

"Just teasing u dummy." He said with a smile as he took a seat on the bannister next to the Bat-computer.

"Right… well.... I see you're back to your normal self" said Bruce, returning to his work

"Mostly." Jay smiled

"Good… that's good." There was some silence taken up by Bruce's fingers tapping the Bat-computer's interface

"Hey." Jay interrupted

"Yeah?" Said Bruce

"Aren't you scared of catching my cold-cooties or something?" The clown inquired

"No." Bruce answered bluntly.

"Why not?"

"bats don't get colds"

Jay rose an eyebrow.

"Oh really?"

"It's true."

"Mhm…"

Suddenly the sound of a throat clearing interrupted their banter.

"are you two quite done, or will supper have to wait?"

The odd couple turned to face Alfred who was holding a silver platter somewhat impatiently.

"er...Now is fine Alfred"

The butler nodded and gracefully waltzed between them to set the plate down. Removing it's dome to reveal a piping hot stew, stuffed with chicken and veggies, with fresh baked biscuits on the side. It’s aroma was even more enticing than it’s appearance

"Wow this is nothing like that Campbell's stuff" said Jay, eyes wide.

"I should hope not.” Alfred huffed. “ I didn't go to culinary school to cook from a can"

“Thank’s Al, it looks great”

"Of course sir… Oh, and, sir?"

"Yeah, Al?"

"You invited this man into your home… least you could do is give him a proper seat"

Jay was still sitting on the banister, swinging his legs happily.

“oh…. Right” he pressed a button and a second chair raised from the floor “i’m… usually the only person down here, sorry.”

“What about that kid?”

“Robin? Never sits still, likes the banister “

“Huh, Go figure….” Jay plopped down in his seat and spun around a few times before grabbing his bowl and testing the soup… to put it lightly, the taste was beyond heavenly.

“Oh my god….”

“Glad to see it suits your taste mr.Jay, young Bruce would fuss about having to eat it every time he was under the weather….”

Bruce a blushed a tint

Jay smiled

“I guess bat’s DO get the sniffles”

“Wasn't a bat back then, doesn’t count”

“Yes it does.”

“No it doesn't”

“Yes it- “

“Children!”

They froze… Alfred gave them a stern look. Free of malice but intimidating nonetheless.

“Do try to behave yourselves, I have enough trouble with robin as is and he’s much better mattered than the both of you”

“Yes, Alfred”

“Sorry, Alfred…” they apologized

The butler one last look,turned on his heels and left the room in silence.

“Man you’re butler’s mean…” Jay whispered

“Don't worry, it’s just an act…. I think…” As they both returned to their gourmet supper Jay suddenly recalled the DVD he'd brought with him.

"Oh HEY! Can we watch a movie???"

"Movie?"

"Yeah!" Jay scrambled over his bag and ran back with the box in his hand.

"Roger Rabbit! It's a classic!"

"Never seen it."

"Really? well we'll have to fix that… it's a detective story! you'll like it!…"

Bruce slowly took the case, studying its colorful cover…

"Suppose… I'll... take your word for it."

Reluctantly, Bruce popped a hatch on the Bat-computer and let the movie play on one of it's many monitors. Jay sitting back with a satisfied smile as Bruce sunk deeper into his work...

Or at least, tried to.

Jay's amused chuckles here and there made it hard to concentrate but the sound wasn't… unpleasant. Every now and then the clown would tap his shoulder and tell him to pay attention to a favorite scene or line if his… eyes flitting between him and the screen, searching for a reaction, however small or unreadable … smiling whenever Bruce's lips curled even a millimeter or two.

As the night continued, Bruce recalled the large home theater he had upstairs in the mansion

50 seats and rarely more than one taken at a time...

He imagined himself up there now with his arm around the other man's shoulders, sharing snacks and a large blanket, huddled close…

Perhaps he could’ve come up with some elaborate lie about "Bruno" allowing visitors in his humble abode, but as much warmth as the thought gave him, it was greatly overpowered by his own paranoia…

He wasn’t quite ready to break that barrier no matter how much he wanted too...

So maybe not today…

But maybe later….

Someday.

After a few passing moments Bruce realized Jay’s little interruptions had stopped and turned to find the man fully asleep on the chair beside him. With a light sigh, Bruce carefully removed his cape and draped it over the man just as he’d done before a year or so ago, Quietly calling for Alfred to prepare the Batcave’s guest bed.

With all the cordial tenderness in the world, Bruce lifted his nemesis and carried him downstairs. for now, somewhere in between all the imaginary lines they’d drawn in the sand, just this close was close enough.

#batman #lego batman #batjokes #jokeboi au #fanfic #my art

[myownworldstayout]

New Friends Ch. 9

Ch.1 / Ch.8 / Ch.10

(It’s here! Are you ready to be thoroughly annoyed with Agreste???)

Chat Noir managed to recharge rather quickly, but when he got back into the fight, Ladybug was nowhere to be found.

“Where could she be?” he thought aloud, scouring the rooftops for his Lady.

“Chat Noir!” Ladybug suddenly called from behind him. He turned around to see not one, but two heroes. Ladybug, of course, and a familiar, bee-like heroine. Except..

“That’s not Queen Bee?” He said in confusion. This new hero had two ponytails instead of one, and they were longer. Not to mention, she had black fuzz lining her waist and.. Were those shoulder pads?

Ladybug smiled, gesturing to their new friend. “Chat Noir, this is Bumblebee. She’s gonna help us out.” 

Bumblebee gave an excited wave and a bright grin. 

Chat squinted, putting his hands to his hips as he scrutinized the new hero. Then he smirked. 

“Any friend of My Lady is a friend of mine.” He extended his hand, which Bumblebee gladly took. 

Unfortunately, the introduction was interrupted by another loud crash. 

“Bumblebee, you know the plan.” Ladybug nodded to new recruit, who returned her nod before leaping onto another rooftop. 

“Chat Noir, help me distract Nocturne a little longer.” She then ordered next, glancing at him and jumping off the roof towards the crash. Chat followed without question, using his baton for momentum.

-

It didn’t take long to overlap Nocturne once again. To Ladybug’s dismay, there were even more people asleep now. Nocturne cackled as she flew through the streets, touching anyone she could with her staff.

“Hey, Sandman! Looking for us?” Chat Noir called out to her, causing the akuma to pause. 

“As a matter of fact, I was! Hawkmoth still needs those pretty jewels of yours that he’s so obsessed with!” She shouted, bolting in their direction. Ladybug and Chat Noir scattered, basically starting a game of cat and mouse. 

Nocturne raced after them, tapping anyone else she came in contact with along the way. She was so focused on the two main heroes, she didn’t notice the yellow blur following close behind her. 

“So, what’s the plan again?” Chat whispered, peeking around a chimney. Nocturne was currently searching the rooftops for them. They didn’t have much time till she found their hiding spots.

“You’ll see.” Ladybug smirked, landing next to him.

“Ah! There you are!” The akuma grinned, causing Chat to jump. She raised her staff, and Chat went to dodge, but Ladybug just stood there with a smile. 

He almost called out to her when the akuma suddenly sucked in a breathe, going completely still. That’s when he saw Bumblebee standing proudly behind her, clipping her top back to her side.

“Great Work!” Ladybug praised, pulling out the akumatized item, which was a balled up piece of paper.

“Thanks, it went better than I expected.” Aurore smiled appreciatively. 

Ladybug broke the akumatized item, then purified it. That was when Bumblebee’s miraculous beeped. 

“It was nice meeting you, Bumblebee. Maybe we can see each other under better circumstances next time.” Chat Noir joked, leaning on his baton with a cheshire grin.

“Not likely, kitty.” Ladybug smiled, giving a small wave. Bumblebee waved as well, before leaving with Ladybug to give back her miraculous.

~~~~

The two managed to sneak back into the gym without a problem. Thankfully, everyone was still groggy from waking up, so no one was there yet. Aurore detransformed, handing Ladybug the miraculous.

“If there’s anything else I can do to help, just let me know!” She said sincerely.

“I’ll keep that in mind. Thanks for your help today.” 

Aurore nodded, then ran off to find her other classmates and make sure they were alright. Ladybug did something similar, except she ran to the girl’s bathroom first to detransform.

 -

When she emerged, she found more students roaming the school halls to go back to their classes. Specifically, a blonde boy dressed in grey determinedly searching the school rooms. It was only when his silvery grey eyes met hers that he faltered.

“Cheng!” Felix called out to her, immediately walking in her direction.

“O-oh, hey Felix!” Marinette smiled.

“Where have you been??” He almost yelled once he caught up to her. “You’re not supposed to run off when there’s an akuma! What were you thinking!?” He continued in a scolding manner, nearly grabbing her by the shoulders to shake some sense into her or something. 

Marinette blinked at him, not used to this kind of behavior from Felix. 

“Ah, sorry. I- uhm, I got stuck in the bathroom.” she chuckled nervously, scratching the back of her head. 

Felix squinted at her, crossing his arms. How do you get stuck in a bathroom?? 

Nevertheless, he blew out a sigh, lightly touching his forehead. 

“Whatever. Just don’t run off again, alright? It’s both dangerous and reckless.” 

Marinette nodded, though she felt guilty knowing she couldn’t keep that promise to him. She was Ladybug, after all. She had her own duty to protect Paris. 

Even so.. Felix’s response to her sudden disappearance was strange. Was he- no. she was probably just imagining it, right? He couldn’t possibly be.. Worried?

“Let’s go. Class is bound to start back up in a few minutes.” Felix suggested, taking Marinette from her thoughts as he turned around to head back to the classroom. She followed behind him, trying not to replay his words too much in her mind.

~~~~~~

“What do you wanna do now, Marinette?” Tikki asked from the safety of Marinette’s purse. 

“Go home. Luka has band practice. Kagami has sword training, and Aurore has to figure out her presentation for the weather cast tomorrow. I think Wayhem is just gonna study at home.” Marinette explained, glancing down at her kwami.

“And Felix?”

Marinette flushed, though she wasn’t entirely sure why. “Well, he’s-”

“Marinette, wait up!” She was interrupted by Adrien, who was running up to catch her. 

Panic flashed across Marinette’s features, but she forced a smile.

“Oh, Adrien..” 

“Hey! I tried to catch you yesterday, but you’ve- uh- you’ve been busy.” Adrien chuckled, scratching the back of his head.

“Have I? I guess I have. There hasn’t really-”

“I wanted to apologize.” 

Marinette stalled. He wanted.. To apologize?

“I should have noticed earlier why you were so upset about Lila.” Adrien continued. “You were hurting over this and I didn’t notice.” he placed a hand on her shoulder with a soft smile. 

Marinette sucked in a breath. Was Adrien really agreeing to finally do something about Lila? 

“So, what are you saying?” She asked anyway, just to make sure.

“I’m saying,” Adrien sighed. “That I’m here for you. We’re in this together. I know it hurts to see Nino and the others get their hopes up like that, but when Lila finally sees what her lies are doing, everything will go back to normal. Until then, you can talk to me about anything when you need to.”

Marinette scoffed. He had single-handedly built up and shattered her hopes in a matter of seconds. 

“Wait, wait, wait.” she interrupted, taking a step back. “So we’re..not exposing Lila?”

“What? No, I thought we agreed not to?” he furrowed his eyebrows, clearly confused. 

Marinette didn’t know what to say. She had thought.. Well, it didn’t matter what she thought now. It was obvious her and Adrien weren’t going to see eye to eye.

“I’m gonna go home. I have homework. Thanks for the talk, though.” Marinette gave a tight smile. 

She could tell Adrien was hesitant to let her leave, but a honk from Gorilla persuaded him to let it go.

“I’ll see you tomorrow then.”

“See you.” 

~~~~~~

Adrien stared idly out the car window as they drove back to the estate. That conversation could have gone better, but at least Marinette knew he understood where she was coming from now, right?

From her reaction, he assumes she still wants to expose Lila. Adrien was sure she would come around though. Just like Lila needed to see that her lies were bad, Marinette needed to see that Lila could be good! It was only normal to get frustrated sometimes. And he knew Marinette well enough to know when she calmed down, she would see reason and agree with him. She might even apologize for her rash behavior.

As long as we stick together, what could go wrong?

Adrien smiled at the thought. He had a feeling everything was gonna be just fine.

~~~~~~

Marinette plopped into her rolling chair, spinning into the middle of the room.

“I can’t believe him!” she growled, resisting the urge to pull her hair out.

“At least he apologized?” Tikki pointed out, trying to find the bright side.

“Yes, Tikki. He apologized…. Then he turned around and threw that right in my face!”

Did he even care? Did he even mean the words he said? Or was he just trying to keep her quiet as always?

Tikki went silent, obviously trying to find another good thing about the situation. The fact that she couldn’t only made Marinette angrier.

She was about to go into another rant when a light knock on the trap door interrupted her.

“Marinette? Are you up there?” 

Marinette blinked. “Aurore?” 

She quickly got up and opened the trap door.

“Hey!” Aurore beamed, stepping up into Marinette’s room.

“I thought you were at the weather station.”

“Oh, I was! But I found one of my go-to presentations in my dressing rooms. So I came to see you! I was thinking we could-” Aurore suddenly paused, her bright smile fading into a concerned expression.

“Are you alright?” She then asked.

“What do you mean?”

“I don’t know. You seem upset. Did something happen?”

Seeing her genuine concern, Marinette considered telling her. 

It wouldn’t hurt right? I don’t have anyone else to talk to right now.. Marinette pondered, glancing back at one of Adrien’s photos she had on the wall. He didn’t appreciate her venting to the group last time.

“Is it Adrien?” Aurore frowned, noticing Marinette’s gaze.

Marinette pulled a sheepish smile in response. It didn’t count if Aurore was the one who brought it up, right? On that note, why should it matter what Adrien thinks? He hasn’t really cared for what she’s thought recently.

“Yeah.” she finally answered.

Aurore closed the trap door behind her and took Marinette’s hands into hers.

“Do you wanna talk about it?” 

The fact Aurore was even concerned for her well being at all made Marinette feel better. It showed at least someone cared.

“No.” Marinette smiled.

“No?” Aurore furrowed her eyebrows, confused.

“Nope. I don’t wanna talk about Adrien anymore right now.” Marinette decided. She didn’t want to dwell on all of these negative thoughts, lest she be akumatized. 

So what’s the next best thing? Hanging out with your friends of course.

Aurore blinked, taking in her response. “O-Oh. alright, yeah! What do you wanna do?” 

Aurore was hesitant at first, but once she accepted Marinette’s response, she was back to her bright, cheery self.

Marinette hummed in thought, looking up at her window.

It was in the afternoon, but there was still daylight out. They probably had a few hours until sunset.

Marinette smiled. “Do you think the others are free by now?” 

tag list: @unabashedbookworm @bluerosette23 @minightrose@kuroko26@im-here-for-the-content @angstyrastuff @clumsy-owl-4178 @fanboy7794@choaticneturcl @bigcheeseyboi @burntnugget-tae @ayuchan07@honorisfortheweak @knightrose15 @mjisntme@rhub4rb @simplythebestbug@wilhelmares@zebrabaker@dargeon-lissa @kristycocopop @alumneia @kaydenth3gayden @thornangelic727 @flirtshobi @whatamessofwords

#Felinette #Felix Culpa #New Friends AU

[kurtty-drabbles]

Ocean au (part 14)

N/A: Here we go. The Ruby part is almost over.

@djinmer4 @dannybagpipesarecalling @bamfoftheundead

Walking on New Gotham in the daylight, and being a pretty woman as MJ knows she truly is, can be dangerous as a super-hero may fall for you or a super-villain will kidnap or you can be mutated into a new type of monster, but, MJ is testing her luck by going to the most popular points of New Gotham.

Her red hair is free being slowly touched by the soft winds of such madcap city and she´s on the cellphone as she´s getting closer of a nice cafe shop that has little to no accident of villains or mutations. Of course, due to the nature of her work, and people do take notice of what a pretty woman as MJ speaks on the cellphone, she has to use some code words.

"Sweetie, which outfit you´ll wear for the party?" MJ asked with a sweet smile and being nothing more than a woman talking with a friend about a cool party they will go later.

Peni, on the other line, is typing violently on the notebook to the point MJ,  and the Korean girl replies. "Wakanda has a tough firewall, but, I manage to plant a bug and I can control a bit the geo-gun, but, MJ....the gun is too unstable at the moment...if it went insane..."

MJ flashes a nice smiling and continues to her brilliant charade. "Don´t go too overboard, sweetie is just a party and nothing else!"

"Look, the geo-gun is unstable as it is...I may try to make sure it won´t kill the entire city, but, MJ this is a dangerous weapon" and she stops typing "but I thought in something, if something went wrong, you think Killmonger will really help us?" there´s sarcasm in her tone and MJ can see how the Korean girl knows the answer already.

"No, of course not, silly, that´s not his style" MJ is not breaking the character even with the possibility of being on her own and having to face Wakanda on her own.

"So...I would prefer to not use the weapon...but I have a different idea, how about we lead to someone the truth about the ruby?"

"That seems a sensible idea. Who will take you?"

"Kurt Ryder comes to mind but MJ, I think I have a better candidate" and as the conversation ends MJ is already on the cafe shop facing a chair being used by one Peter Ross.

Reporters love stories like this and MJ is an excellent actress.

"Hi, excuse me, are you Peter Ross?"

"Yes, I´m"

_________________________________________________________________________________________ Kitty Pryde is stepping out of the elevator with a big bag, one full of food and other goodies, when she spot Kurt Ryder ending a conversation on his phone and Kitty narrow her eyes slightly. Peering into his form for one minute, one minute exactly, as she goes to her house and leave the bag there and goes talk with Kurt Ryder.

Is he really Nightcreepr? Yes, but what does this mean to Columbina and Kitty?

"Ryder!" she speaks as the man was no longer speaking on the phone and is looking at her in that cocky style of his. She´s looking at his hair, to be exact, is just like Nightcreeper.

She moves her hand, once asking if she could touch Ryder´s hair and to his own surprise he agrees, and Kitty is messing with his natural curls and as she let a hair lock fall to the side, she can see he´s Nightcreeper.

"I´m a fan of colleague's movies, I´m a big fan and I noticed that among all those treasures of bad plot and acting...you were there in the movie 3 wishes for one night" her hand is patting his shoulder for a moment. "Why you didn´t go full actor? You had potential!"

And that break his cocky attitude, not really but it reduces so that´s something, as the man pouts and asks one thing of total importance. "You never saw my TV show but you know I was in that trash movie?" and there´s a disappointment in his tone and Kitty merely shrugs.

Now, is Kurt´s tone to narrow his eyes at her as he makes another question. "Gambit is a professional poker player. He told me you´re not....so, what you truly work with, Kitty Pryde?" and crosses his arms trying to look intimidating but it is such a backlash to Kitty because it gives more proves that he is Nightcreeper.

How...How did he turn into that green wacko?

"I know how to play poker. I tend to play more poker than do my usual job" not a lie, per se, but she can´t give all the details to Mr noisy reporter. "I´m a sexologist and I attend people in my home...my home is my office, and trust me, I´d not have money to keep two places" again, not a lie and is almost comical how a thief is being honest to a Mr noisy reporter like him.

Kurt Ryder blinks at her for a moment. "Aren´t you worried about your safety?"

"I´m. Always. But...let me put this way, I have more chances of meeting a green wacko in a speedo than a lunatic breaking in my house" and again, that´s true and she beam at this as for once, Kurt Ryder has no response to such statement.

"Still...That can be dangerous" Ryder stated and Kitty has such tranquillity in her posture that confuses the reporter. "Besides, even if no one went to your house...what if someone steals from you? Columbina is walking around this city and we don´t know her plan"

Kitty blinks and chuckles as she replies. "I plan to make chilli and if you want a piece of that you´ll have to offer something really good, Mr noisy reporter"

"I´ve Bavarian Beer. We can share"

"Damn you and your beers. You got again"

Ryder makes his mission to protect this naive woman and Kitty makes her mission to keep a watchful eye on Mr noisy reporter aka Nightcreeper.

________________________________________________________________________________________

Felicia Hardy, Oracle and Columbina are ready to complete the mission and stole the ruby and sure, they aren´t shocked to see the security in this museum, but, one thing takes Felicia´s focuses away. "Why Ororo wants this ruby?"

Columbina does not know many details of the political warfare of Wakanda and the world but she can make a hazard guess. "Wakanda wants their secrets to remain secrets and I think we shouldn´t make more questions" and soon the plan begins.

Felicia would distract the guards prompting them to take their eyes from the ruby. Oracle tackle with the security camera making it seems that the image on the screen is the same and does not show one sneaky Columbina.

And Columbina phases the lasers. She hates lasers. As she caught, she put in her bag(a special one for the crime) and put a fake one, this ruby was made by Icy Woman and her fakes are perfect. Sadly, the trio of thieves didn´t see one sneaky spy watching the scene.

"P, inact plan B"

_________________________________________________________________________________________

Ororo and T´Challa got the ruby back in record time and thanks were given to Kitty and her group as well a promise of confidentiality, which no one dares to break it, and T´Challa then announced he´s needed in Wakanda.

Sure, T´Challa would rather take a more discreet route, but, he´s the King of Wakanda, people are bound to reconize him whatever he wants or not, and as a crow of reporters and even fans gather around his presence, making the typical questions about Wakanda, his bag starts making a sound and the ruby is activated.

A geo-gun was exposed and Ororo was called to solve the problem and Wakanda now has to do RP to keep the bad press and image out of their beloved nation.

______________________________________________________________________________________

"A geo-gun that was placed in New Gotham is owned by Wakanda and was stole by their high-security facilities with easy. If that gun did fall for the wrong hands...we all would be in great danger, one that could be bigger enough for The Amazon to contain" Peter Ross is giving the news and more details that no one was aware before.

Meanwhile, MJ is happy that her plan does not lead in death and even Columbina´s death(what MJ can do? She´s a fan of this thief) but one problem arises.

"MJ, we can´t leave New Gotham so soon"

"I know, Peni, some sacrifices should be made here" and MJ has her cellphone ring and is not surprising to see Columbina aka Kitty Pryde´s number on the screen.

"I know it was you. Was this the plan all along?" she asked and MJ chuckles.

"No, the initial plan would get you and your friends dead. I rather avoid killing and make enemies"

"I think Wakanda think differently"

"Did you rat me?"

"As much you did"

"Oh, Columbina, this is our business now. Can I do anything to make up for this?"

"You own me big. And I mean, really big for this"

"And like all Lannisters, I pay my debts, Columbina"

"I know"

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

The JLX is talking about the ruby´s incident. The way Wakanda can produce such dangerous guns and others weaponry was a debate back and forth and the fact that now New Gotham has a spy of this calibre means one thing.

"We must do something...arrest her" one of them suggested, but, the heroes aren´t keen to this decision.

"Why? Because she told us what Wakanda was planing? Well, if Columbina can be a, what´s the word again, oh right, a good candidate, why not MJ and Peni Parker...no, we´re not related" Peter Ross announced as Nightcreeper would make a question like this. Peter Ross´s secret identity was undercover by the team in their last mission together and they promised to keep a secret.

"I agree" Dark Claw states shocking everyone as is extremely rare Dark Claw agrees with Spider-boy. "We don´t need to make more enemies. If this MJ and Peni Parker are merely hired to do their jobs...why we couldn´t be their clients?" and adds "of course, there´s no guarantee she would be a good employee and stab us in the back. We don´t know why Killmonger hired those two...maybe they are the best or maybe this was a last resort, either way...let´s not be too hasty"

And Dark Claw´s eyes are locked on Spider-boy. "And let´s use our minds to think over this and not be lead on by a pretty face" and this make Nightcreeper giggles and Spider-boy just rolls his eyes.

#ocean au #kurt ryder #kitty pryde #the ruby arc is over #there´s the party #ice woman #kurtty yet #MJ and Peni are good spies. #Dark Claw is not unreasonable and would rather have allies then enemies #but he is not a fool

[itsmarianstories]

They call me kitty🐾

[Jikook Social Media Au]

Part 12: I’ll show you »» Part 13: Numbers

Jungkook is a bratty college student, who stumbles through life, trying to find his way. He is attractive and he knows it, so he is used to getting whoever he wants. Until a certain cute boy walks into his life with swaying hips and fluttering lashes, who seems completely unimpressed by Jungkook. However, being the stubborn boy that he is Jungkook refuses to give up just yet, not knowing that with that he has already become a figure in Jimins game of life.

Word count: 1.854

Jungkook had his hands tucked in between his legs and rubbed them with his thighs anxiously. He really wasn’t sure what came over him the last few days. At first he had thought kitty would be a cute, soft boy who he can tease a bit maybe and take out on domestic dates. Instead the boy turned out to be anything but soft, now Jungkook was the one getting teased and he wasn’t so sure anymore if it was such a good idea to keep in contact with the smaller. Something about him made things twist uncomfortably in his stomach, he was definitely bad news. Sometimes when he stared into kitty’s eyes it made him feel like he was the smaller man’s prey, which should probably scare him. The thing is weirdly it didn’t, it excited him and made hims addicted. Jungkook wanted more, he was hooked on the challenge. He wanted to crack kitty and get close to him, break his walls and earn his trust. Finally getting his name goddamn it. 

He was ripped out of his train of thoughts as the loud, rattling sound of a nearing engine could be heard. Jungkook stood up from the railing he was leaning on, his eyes widening as he took in the completely new sight of the pink haired boy. Gone were the soft sweaters and leggings, instead he wore leather pants and jacket combined with a white Gucci crop top and a diamond choker. He looked utterly sinful, sitting on his motorcycle, back arched a bit making that perfect round ass stand out even more. The boy turned off the engine, kicked down the side stand and took off his helmet, shaking out his hair before finally turning to look at Jungkook with a grin. 

“Well well hello!” He said, a sparkle in his eyes and Jungkook took a shuddering breath before jogging over to kitty. His eyes wandering not only over the boy but also what he is sitting on because damn.

“Wow,” Jungkook said, observing the white motorcycle tuned with pink and blue neon lights. “So I guess your business is going pretty well.” Kitty giggled at that and ran his tiny hand through his hair. 

“I guess you could say that.”

“Then what kind of business is it? Maybe I should reconsider my studies.” Jimin stared at him for a while as if he would consider whether to tell him or not. In the end he shrugged a bit.

“I own a few clubs.” Jungkooks eyes lit up at that. 

“Ohh that’s cool! Maybe I’ve been to one of yours before!” Kitty chuckled a bit and shook his head.

“I kinda doubt that.”

“Why?”

“Well you are gay, aren’t you?” Jungkook frowned confused.

“I mean yes….but why? Why does that matter?” Kitty threw a helmet into Jungkooks direction, the younger catching it a bit startled. 

“Because there is not much of interest for you then. Hop on, I’ll show you.” The pink haired said before putting on his helmet and patting the space on the seat behind himself, inviting Jungkook to take place. The younger gulped, put on the helmet -which had cat ears by the way? Lol okay- and swung his leg over the machine, settling in behind the younger. 

The engine roared up with a loud purr and kitty reached behind himself, wrapping Jungkooks arm around his waist.

“Hold tight!” He yelled over the sounds of the bike before lifting his feet and returning back onto the street. Kitty skilfully moved them through the labyrinth of streets, alleys and traffic. The wind ripping on his body and making him shiver but it wasn’t really cold because kitty was radiating off so much heat. Jungkook unconsciously scooped a bit closer, his chest pressed against the olders back and arms wrapped tightly around the slim waist. He was an uncomfortable lot aware about the fact that if he moves his hand just a little bit up, he’d be able to feel the older’s soft skin, where his stomach is exposed due to the crop top. It took him a lot of self control to not brush his fingers over it. 

Before he had even realized it they already slowed down again and kitty stopped the engine in front of a big building. The word “Desiré” in big violet glowing letters decorating the front. It looked expensive, high class with big security guys blocking the doors. Kitty parked his bike and took off his helmet before hopping off the seat. Jungkook did the same, eyes still taking in his surroundings. The whole area looked high-class. Clean streets, only a few people roaming through the street, expensive restaurants and boutiques, big office buildings. Jungkook now understood why Jin would make a deal with kitty. 

The older waved his hand at him to follow as he approached the club. Contrary to what Jungkook is used to, there were no drunk students lining up in front of the doors. No drunk people vomiting on the sidewalk, no couples making out in a side alley. Everything screamed professionalism and secrecy. 

The two security men stepped aside for them and opened the doors with a respectful nod and Jungkook suddenly felt very out of place.

“Are you sure I can go in there?” He asked nervously, since Jin never allowed him to step foot into his Restaurant. Kitty chuckled as they entered. Jungkook was immediately hit with a very sweet, flowery scent. Dim violet lights coming from big chandeliers, the whole interior design kept in elegant violet and silver.

“As long as you stay with me you won’t have a problem. Don’t worry, I’m established enough. My clients won’t hop off just because of one emo boy.” He assured.

And then they came into the main room and suddenly Jungkook understood why Kitty said it’s not of interest for him. The room was not filled with flashing neon lights, deafening loud music and grinding bodies, but with cozy seating areas and armchairs all of which are directed to the various small stages where beautiful, half naked women were dancing on shining poles. The music was loud enough to be comfortably heard but not too loud to hinder conversation. Man and woman dressed in suits were serving drinks to the customers and Jungkook realized how packed it was. Mostly middle-aged men but the club was definitely running good. 

Jungkook never stepped foot into a strip club before but he obviously knew what it was. He always imagined some crusty, dark rooms with nasty old horny men and poor women. This was everything but what he imagined. 

Kitty lead him through the various tables over to the bar where a tall, neatly styled man was preparing drinks. They sat down on the barstools and the bartender immediately slid over a drink to the older. 

“Thanks honey, bring one more for my guest, okay?” The man nodded and a few moments later a drink was placed in front of him. 

“You shouldn’t drink when you still have to drive.” Jungkook scolded and sniffed the drink. Kitty chuckled and took a big gulp, then he leaned over and exhaled into Jungkooks face. The younger blinked a bit taken aback. 

“Do you smell any alcohol?” He asked and Jungkook needed a moment to snap and realize what those words meant. He shook his head and Kitty smiled, taking another sip of his drink. 

“So a strip club?” Jungkook said raising a brow. He was curious. What brought the older to that.

“Yeah, it’s good business.” 

“Okay but… why? How?” Jungkook stammered a bit helplessly. He wasn’t sure if he was crossing a line and all kitty did was raise a brow at him.

“Like… did you finish college and were like ‘hey mom, I’m gonna open a strip club’.” As soon as he finished his sentence and kittys face hardened he knew he overstepped. The older straightened his back, one leg swung over the other.

“I don’t have to explain anything to you. Look, honeybun, you are cute and all, but know your place.” Kitty said, staring deeply into Jungkook eyes. Fuck why was that filling him with excitement? Jungkook should be embarrassed, ashamed, maybe even angry or something. Anything really, anything but turned on. All he could do was gulp and nod. 

A few seconds later Kittys attention moved from him over to something behind him. Or rather someone, as Jungkook realized once a tall, skinny woman approached them. She wrapped an arm around the older, pulling him in and pressing a peck on his lips. Jungkooks eyes widened in shock. He remembered seeing her on stage just a few moment earlier and she still barely wore anything. Only a pair of heals, lace panties and a transparent babydoll. Her whole body was glittering and her hair long, brown locks. She was beautiful, especially when she smiled brightly.

“Kitty, I didn’t know you’d come today!” She exclaimed happily. 

“Of course, I have to make sure my baby kittens are safe and sound after all.” He said, beaming back at the woman. 

“Aish, you are such a sap!” She laughed and slapped his shoulder lightly, before turning to Jungkook. 

“Hmm and who is this cutie over here?” She then asked, coming to his side and wrapping an arm around his shoulder. Jungkook froze. He has never seen a naked woman in real life before and he could clearly see her nipples if he wanted to. Which he didn’t, he strictly avoided looking at her, knowing his ears are already red enough as it is. He was never good with women.

“Do you wanna have a bit of fun tonight?” She whispered in his ear and Jungkook stiffened even more. 

“Leave him be, Lilly. He’s not a customer.” Kitty chuckled and the woman finally let go of him. 

“What a pity, he’d be a nice change.” Lilly joked, then she went over to Kitty again and whispered something in his ear before going somewhere else. 

“D-Did she… I mean is she… you know?” Jungkook whispered.

“A prostitute? Yes, why?” Jungkook nibbled on his lip anxiously. This was all so foreign to him.

“She didn’t look… like it…” 

“Why? Because she didn’t look poor? Because she didn’t look like a broken junkie? Because there are no black bruises on her skin?” Kitty rolled his eyes at him. 

“Every woman that works here does that on her own accord. I pay good, they can all confirm that, they have contracts, they get protection and can quit whenever they want. Contrary to what society makes you believe, some people actually enjoy the work.” Jungkook pouted and looked down at his hands.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean-“

“I know, it’s not your fault. You couldn’t know.” Kitty interrupted him. He then reached out for his drink and downed it in one go. “Come on, let’s go eat.” He said and stood up.

Moments later they left the club again and Kitty drove them to some random diner. They ate and talked about everything for what felt like hours, before the older drove him back home.

#bts #fanfiction #jikook #kookmin #social media au #jikook social media au #jeon jungkook #park jimin #kitty gang au #kitty gang au 12 #ggukienet

[angelofthequeers]

Shine a Light on Me - part 5

Disclaimer: I don’t own ML.

Thanks to everyone who’s been following this fic! It was originally meant to be a salty oneshot and I can’t even believe it expanded into what it did. And thanks to anyone who’s liked and reblogged this - it means a lot more than you think, considering that this is only my second ever ML fic.

Part 4 | AO3 link

It’s not easy to navigate a building when you’re a group of brightly costumed superheroes trying not to be seen, especially when you’re looking for a fellow hero with a chance of being under the villain’s thumb. Somehow, though, Ladybug, Rena Rouge, and Carapace eventually find Chat Noir hiding in the library in the non-fiction stacks, curled in a ball.

“Chat Noir!” Ladybug rushes to his side and kneels next to her off-white partner. He squints up at her, and with the words ‘Adrien Agreste’ painted across his forehead, it’s a wonder that Luce Bianca hadn’t seen who he was before he could escape.

“Milady?” he croaks. He breaks into a weak grin when he sees Rena Rouge and Carapace behind her.

“How are you feeling, kitty?” Ladybug says, cupping his cheeks. She deliberately doesn’t look at the writing scrawled all over his body; he deserves his secrets, and if there’s anything he wants her to know then he’ll tell her. “Does it hurt?”

“Not now that you’re here,” Chat Noir says before his weak grin slips. “Honestly, it doesn’t. So long as I can’t see Luce Bianca, I don’t feel like I have to start spilling every little dark secret I have – it’s looking at her that hypnotises you into staying close to her. I think I’m pretty useless right now, bugaboo.”

“Dude, you’re far from useless,” Carapace says. “She totally would’ve gotten those kids if you hadn’t stopped her. And there’s gotta be some way you can help like this.”

“If we could find some way to cut the link between him and Luce Bianca when he’s near her, he could get the akuma without the risk of getting zapped,” Ladybug says slowly. “I know I usually wait until we’re in battle to do this, but…Lucky Charm!”

“Uh, okay,” Rena Rouge says slowly when Ladybug’s given a ladybug-patterned can of spray paint. “I don’t think spray-painting Luce Bianca will do much to stop her.”

Ladybug frowns. Her eyes are drawn to Chat Noir, then Carapace’s shield, then Rena Rouge, and she suddenly knows what they need to do. “Okay, guys, here’s the plan…”

“You think you can humiliate me like that?” Luce Bianca is shouting when the group of superheroes crouch in one of the corridors leading to the courtyard. Ladybug can’t help but wonder why Luce Bianca hasn’t left but then realises that it’s probably easier to keep everyone and their secrets close to her if she’s not moving and giving them the chance to slip away. “Well, I’ll expose you to the world, Ladybug! How are you going to defeat me without your mangy cat sidekick?”

“Meowch,” says a pitch-black Chat Noir. Covered in paint like he is, with a blindfold made of curtain fabric to prevent him from being able to see Luce Bianca, there’s no way he can do anything unless he’s got someone helping him.

“You’re my mangy cat,” Ladybug says. “Rena Rouge, Carapace, you ready?”

“Never been readier, dude,” Carapace says.

“Damn right,” Rena Rouge adds, twirling her flute between her fingers.

“Okay. Just like we planned.” Ladybug runs out of the corridor and does a graceful flip to land right in front of Luce Bianca. “Lila, you need to stop this right now!”

“Ladybug!” Luce Bianca clenches her fists. Ladybug shoots a glance at her bracelet, noting how it glimmers. If the akuma’s not there then she can’t think of where else it could possibly be. “Not very smart of you to show yourself like that when you know I want to crush you.”

“I’ve given you chance after chance to forget about your lies and –”

“I don’t want your pity!” Luce Bianca stomps her foot. When the rainbow words shimmer and move with her, Ladybug manages to discern what some of them say. They’re names, most likely of everyone she’s hit; Juleka Couffaine, Max Kanté, Alice Roux, Louis Martin…

“I don’t pity you,” Ladybug says. “I want you to be liked for who you are, Lila. I don’t want you to feel like you need to tell all these lies just to get people to like you.”

“Liar!” Luce Bianca bellows. “You can’t lie to me! I want your Miraculous, Ladybug! I want you unmasked! I want the whole world to know that you’re nothing but a little snake who puts on a cute smile to make everyone think she’s an angel! What would the world think if they knew how you’d treated me when we first met?”

“I already apologised for that,” Ladybug says firmly. “You’re perfectly entitled to not accept my apology, but you don’t get to keep hurting people like you’ve done. Especially with what you’ve done to Marinette Dupain-Cheng.”

Luce Bianca gives a shrill, hysterical laugh. “Her? She’s just as much of a snake as you! Always smiling, rushing to help people, acting like she’s some pure princess and everyone should rush to cater to her!”

“Or maybe you’re so used to lying that you’ve even succeeded at lying to yourself,” Ladybug says. She drops her right hand down to her side and counts down from three; when she reaches zero, she hears faint flute music and a call of “Mirage!” In the blink of an eye, the courtyard is filled with hundreds of Ladybugs and Rena Rouges.

“You think that’ll stop me?” Luce Bianca aims at one of the Ladybug illusions and fires a beam of white light, which makes the illusion ripple out of existence. The way she’d used her left hand – the one with the bracelet – only confirms that the akuma has to be there. “You think you can out-illusion Volpina? I’ll destroy every single one of them and then expose you and Rena Rouge! And I’ll take the Fox Miraculous for myself – it should be mine!”

The courtyard is utter chaos as Luce Bianca and her minions attack. The illusions put up a good fight, jumping and darting out of the way, but it’s only a matter of time before they’re all destroyed, so the heroes need to act fast. Out of the corner of her eye, Ladybug catches sight of the real Rena Rouge joining the fray to aid as a further distraction, while Carapace and Chat Noir edge around to get close to Luce Bianca. Whenever a beam of white light gets too close for comfort, Carapace deflects it with his shield while still guiding Chat Noir by the wrist.

“You ready, kitty?” Ladybug says when Carapace and Chat Noir draw level with her.

“I’m always ready, bugaboo,” Chat Noir grins. “Cataclysm!”

Once his ring is sparking, Ladybug takes over the job of guiding him from Carapace. With the number of illusions now severely depleted and Luce Bianca getting angrier and angrier, Carapace ducks away from Ladybug and Chat Noir to cover Rena Rouge’s back so that she doesn’t get hit. This also has the added effect of infuriating Luce Bianca even more, consequently keeping her attention off Ladybug and Chat Noir.

“Follow me,” Ladybug murmurs to Chat Noir, leading him around the edge of the chaos by the wrist. Thankfully, none of Luce Bianca’s minions seem to realise that a Ladybug illusion wouldn’t be guiding a blindfolded Chat Noir, otherwise Ladybug’s plan may have been utterly ruined.

“Enough!” Luce Bianca shrieks. “Give me your Miraculous, you fake fox! Then I’ll take Ladybug and Chat Noir’s for Hawkmoth!”

“Fake?” Rena Rouge says, nimbly leaping over a minion. “How am I the fake one when Ladybug chose me?”

Luce Bianca screams and shoots a series of beams in quick succession. There’s no chance for Rena Rouge to dodge even one of them…and she would have been hit if not for Carapace crying, “Shellter!” to create a glowing green force field that deflects every single beam.

“Now, kitty!” Ladybug dashes forward with Chat Noir while Luce Bianca is throwing her tantrum and focusing on Rena Rouge and Carapace. Luce Bianca seems to realise what’s happening a split second too late, as she whirls to meet Ladybug and Chat Noir just as Ladybug plants Chat Noir’s sparking hand on Luce Bianca’s bracelet.

“No!” As the blackened butterfly escapes from the ruined bracelet, Luce Bianca dives for it and tries to snatch it back. But Rena Rouge and Carapace are there in a heartbeat, each grabbing one of her arms and holding her tightly as she wails and writhes.

“No more evildoing for you, little akuma!” Ladybug swipes open her yo-yo and swings it around to gather momentum as she usually does, then tosses it out to catch the akuma. “Time to de-evilise! Gotcha!” She frees the now-white butterfly and waves it off with a, “Bye-bye, little butterfly!”

“This isn’t fair!” Luce Bianca furiously yanks and heaves against Rena Rouge and Carapace’s grips, but they hold on tight. “You’ve ruined everything, Ladybug! You and Rena Rouge! I hate you, I hate you, I hate you!”

Not even sparing Luce Bianca a glance, Ladybug retrieves her spray can Lucky Charm from inside her yo-yo, then throws it up in the air and calls, “Miraculous Ladybug!” The healing ladybugs zoom around, reverting all of Lila’s victims to their former selves and fixing the damage in the courtyard caused by the battle with the illusions. Chat Noir beams and looks himself over when the blindfold and spray paint are dissolved along with the effects of Luce Bianca’s exposing beam and he’s back to his usual self.

“White’s never been my colour,” he says, cracking his knuckles. “I’ve always been more of a dark, mysterious, dashing guy.”

“You’re a pussy cat,” Ladybug teases, booping him on the nose. Their banter is cut short by Luce Bianca turning back into Lila, whose head darts around to take in her surroundings.

“Did I – Ladybug, was I akumatised again?” she gasps. She looks at Rena Rouge and Carapace, who are still holding her loosely, and then she begins to cry when they release her. “How could I have been so weak? I can’t believe I let Hawkmoth akumatise me again! Oh, I’m so ashamed – you all probably hate me –”

“Drop the act, Lila,” Kim says, crossing his arms. Everyone else in the courtyard is muttering to each other and staring at Lila. “We all saw the video.”

“How do we know that you didn’t want to be akumatised as some form of revenge?” Max says. “We can’t believe anything you say.”

“It doesn’t have to be this way, Lila.” Ladybug holds out her hand. “You don’t have to lie about us being friends. Everyone makes mistakes –”

“Save the speech!” Lila snarls, batting Ladybug’s hand away. “You’re just trying to make yourself look like the perfect princess in all this! If you really wanted to be friends, then you wouldn’t have humiliated me like you did!”

“That was because you were putting yourself in danger from Hawkmoth,” Rena Rouge says. “And because you threatened two students.”

“I’m not even talking about that!” Lila says. “I’m talking about how you embarrassed me in front of Adrien! How you were so nasty to me, yet everyone thinks that you’re like some goddess!”

“I apologised for that,” Ladybug says. “I acknowledged that I was wrong to react the way I did. But you never acknowledged that you were wrong for deceiving people and claiming to be a superhero when you weren’t. And even if I hadn’t been angry, I still would have called you out, because you’re only endangering yourself when you do that. We can’t allow civilians to put themselves in danger like that, Lila.” Out of the corner of her eye, she notices Rena Rouge and Carapace dispersing the crowd so that there isn’t an audience to this confrontation, and her gratitude for her two friends increases even more.

“She’s only human,” Chat Noir adds. “My lady makes mistakes. We all do. Heck, I’ve made plenty of mistakes.”

“What matters is that you want to fix them,” Ladybug says. “We can offer you chance after chance, but nothing will change unless you want to change. And we don’t pity you, Lila. We sympathise with you. There’s a difference.”

“How?” Lila laughs bitterly. “Either way, you’re still coming from “oh, that poor Lila girl, let’s do the heroic thing and be her friend!” I don’t want your pity!”

“If it was pity then I wouldn’t mean it,” Ladybug says. “I’d be saying it out of duty. But I really do mean it, just like the first time I offered. You don’t need to lie to get people to like you.”

“I couldn’t care less if people like me,” Lila scoffs. “You don’t get anywhere by having people like you.”

“It’s not as though you’re not talented,” Ladybug says. She takes a careful step towards Lila, hoping that she doesn’t spook the other girl. “You’re excellent at crafting stories. You’re charismatic. You’re smart. And I wasn’t lying when I said that I’d like to be your friend. Just because people feel sympathy for you doesn’t mean that they feel sorry for you.”

“Milady, I’m going to transform back,” Chat Noir pipes up.

“So are we,” Rena Rouge adds. It’s just them in the courtyard now, with no audience whatsoever.

“Then you can take the Miraculouses back, Chat Noir,” Ladybug says. “I’m not on a timer, so I’m going to stay here and talk to Lila. And it might be better without others around.”

“I’m not delicate!” Lila growls.

“I never said that,” Ladybug says. “It’ll just feel more equal without my teammates around, is all I’m saying.” Once her fellow heroes are gone, she turns back to Lila, trying to figure out exactly what to say to get her point through this girl’s head.

“Thanks, but no thanks,” Lila scoffs. “I already told you, I don’t need –”

SLAP.

Lila gasps and reels back, clutching her face, where a red mark in the shape of a handprint is starting to sear itself into her cheek. If she wasn’t so annoyed and furious, Ladybug might be struggling not to be sick with how she had just slapped Lila Rossi across the face; but right now, all she wants is to make this girl see.

“Shut. Up. And. Listen. To. Me,” Ladybug says. “Listen. Don’t just go off on a self-pitying rant. You think I don’t get what it’s like to have no friends? You think that I’m just as popular and respected in my normal life as I am when I’m Ladybug?”

“How could you not be?” Lila spits. “Why else would you be picked as Ladybug?”

“I was picked because I got lucky,” Ladybug says. “I was in the right place at the right time. Listen. I’ve been in the same class with the same people for literally years, and I never had a best friend or a crush or even anyone I was particularly close to until this year. I was friendly with people, but I didn’t have friends. You can be yourself and try your hardest and still not have anyone who really likes you.”

Lila snorts loudly but doesn’t say anything.

“And I know that it can feel like no one will ever like you when that keeps happening,” Ladybug continues. “Putting enough trust in others to let them decide whether they like you for you? That’s one of the bravest things you can do. I’ve felt how you felt, Lila. I’m on your side. I was already on your side when I offered to be friends with you after apologising.”

“You’ve never once helped me,” Lila says. “All you’ve done is make things worse. You know who has helped me? Hawkmoth. He gives me the power I need.”

“Hawkmoth doesn’t care about anyone,” Ladybug says. “As cliché as this sounds, he’s using you. He’s probably said the same thing to everyone else that he says to you. You don’t need superpowers to be strong. I want to help you now.”

“I can’t trust you,” Lila says. “How do I know that you won’t go and make another video about me if I make a tiny mistake?”

Ladybug sighs. “I’m not sorry for calling you out for threatening Marinette and Alya,” she says. “But I am sorry for causing you that pain from making a personalised video like that. The only reason it got to that point is because I know what you’ve done to Marinette. And when someone is upset enough to tell me about being threatened, especially with video proof? I see it as my duty to help that person. It wasn’t to humiliate you, Lila. I was just so desperate to fix the problem and to make sure that Hawkmoth wouldn’t mistakenly attack you to get to me.”

Lila doesn’t say anything. Ladybug can’t tell if she’s cracking, so she keeps going.

“I won’t reject you,” she says and holds out her hand. “Do you think you can trust me and forgive me for hurting you? Can I be your friend for real?”

Lila stares at Ladybug’s hand with an unreadable expression on her face. Ladybug bites her lip, wondering if she’s truly doing the right thing or if she’s only rubbing salt in the wound and making Lila angrier and more bitter.

“I can’t be your friend,” Lila finally says. Ladybug’s heart starts to sink, but it stops at Lila’s next words. “Not yet. But…I can try not hating you.” She reaches out and loosely clasps Ladybug’s hand.

“That’s a start,” Ladybug says with a small smile. Unlike the last time they had interacted, when she had been Chameleon, Lila’s not wearing a fake smile and cheerfully accepting a truce. Ladybug’s still not fully sure, but it does feel like Lila’s at least genuine about this.

“Everyone’s going to hate me anyway,” Lila says when she lets go of Ladybug’s hand. “They all saw the video. So I’m not even sure what the point of this is.”

“I’ll ask Alya to take that video down,” Ladybug says. “I’ll even film another video asking people not to harass you. And you never know. There might be one or two people who still want to be your friend.”

“Not likely,” Lila says, but she’s not screaming hateful things anymore, so Ladybug counts that as a win.

“I have to go,” she says. “Will you be alright? Do you want me to take you home for the rest of the day?”

“No,” Lila says. “I don’t need to make people pity me like that. I don’t need them to like me.” With that, she turns and heads back into the school with her nose in the air. Ladybug watches her go, then heads in the opposite direction and ducks inside an empty classroom to detransform.

“I’m proud of you, Marinette!” Tikki says as Marinette rummages in her purse for a cookie. “It would have been so easy to give up on Lila and condemn her for what she did.”

“I thought about that,” Marinette admits. She finally finds a cookie and holds it out for her kwami. “But then I realised that we’d only be going in circles. She’d get angry, get akumatised, I’d defeat her, she’d hate me more. Part of being Ladybug is taking down hate wherever I see it.”

Tikki beams and grabs the cookie, taking a huge bite out of the sugary treat. “Exactly,” she says. “Do you think Lila was genuine about not hating you anymore?”

“I’m not sure,” Marinette says. “But there’s only one way to find out.”

After the chaos of Luce Bianca, everyone is quiet as they finish off their work in class, deliberately not looking at each other in the wake of exposed secrets. Even Lila is focusing on her work, refusing to meet anyone’s gaze when they look back at her, but also refusing to curl in and look pathetic. It’s such a stark contrast to her previous persona of constantly talking and making herself look small and helpless that Marinette can’t help but wonder which parts of Lila are just acts and which are genuine. But she can’t focus on that right now; if she looks back at Lila one more time, she’s got no doubt that Alya’s going to start asking questions.

When the bell rings for lunch, everyone rushes out of the classroom. Lila’s left at the back of the classroom without so much as a glance spared her way, but she sniffs and looks away when Marinette tries to catch her eye.

“Alright, come on, you guys,” Alya says, shepherding Marinette, Adrien, and Nino away from Miss Bustier’s classroom and down the hall to one that’s just been emptied. The minute the door is locked, she rounds on Marinette and Adrien, hands on her hips.

“Ladybug and Chat Noir,” she announces. “Right under my nose the whole time!”

“I know, right?” Marinette says with a wide, nervous grin. Alya just crosses her arms.

“I have no idea how I didn’t see it,” she says.

“Miraculous magic?” Adrien offers.

“So, like, did you two really not know who the other was?” Nino says.

“Nope,” Marinette says. “We agreed on that for each other’s safety. Especially after what happened on Heroes’ Day when you two knew about each other.”

Alya and Nino wince, but they both sigh and shrug in agreement.

“And even now, it was a total accident, Marinette finding out who I am,” Adrien says. He gives Marinette a very Chat Noir-like grin and slings an arm around her shoulders to draw her in close. Marinette swallows and tries to cool down her flaming cheeks while also glaring at a smirking Alya. “We’ve already agreed that I’m going to ask her out as Adrien, then LadyNoir will be a thing in a few days or so.”

“If you call us that, you’re getting dumped,” Marinette warns. Adrien just laughs and kisses the top of her head, rendering her so speechless that she groans and hides her burning face in his shirt.

“Okay, not that this isn’t the most adorable thing I’ve ever seen, but I’m actually going to be sick if I have to watch more of it,” Alya says.

“Now you know how we feel about you and Nino,” Adrien shoots back. Marinette snorts loudly. “How do you feel about us just walking into the cafeteria like this, bugaboo?”

“Yeah, I don’t think anyone wants to see some grand thing from the biggest drama king around,” Alya says.

“Hey!”

“She’s got a point, dude,” Nino snickers. “Chat Noir’s totally dramatic.”

“Really? Even my best friend?” Adrien huffs and steers Marinette around. “Come on, bugaboo, we don’t need them.”

“You really can’t call me that when we’re not transformed,” Marinette says as Adrien unlocks the door and the four of them leave the room and head for the cafeteria.

“Good point.” A devilish grin splits Adrien’s face. “Princess.”

“Oh my god,” Marinette whines, while Alya and Nino laugh loudly. “I swear, I will actually dump you.”

“We all know you’re a big fat liar, Marinette,” Alya smirks. Marinette turns and pokes her tongue out.

When they enter the cafeteria, everyone turns and stares at them, and Marinette has to resist the urge to hide her face again. Although everyone’s gotten used to having Adrien Agreste among their ranks, he’s still a popular celebrity, and so the sight of him with his arm around a girl is triggering a lot of whispers and murmurs around the room as he, Marinette, Alya, and Nino go to line up for their lunch.

“You’d think they’d have something better to talk about,” Alya says when they’ve collected their trays. “Honestly, Adrien, you’re not that cool.”

“Fight me,” Adrien deadpans. “Actually, no, don’t do that. You’d slam me into the ground and then Marinette wouldn’t have her gorgeous boyfriend anymore.”

Marinette makes a high-pitched sound and buries her face in his shirt again at the word “boyfriend”.

“Fine, fine,” Alya says. “Only because Marinette wouldn’t forgive me after all the times she’s cried to me about how pretty your face is.”

“Alya!” Marinette hisses.

“I’ll protect Marinette for you, dude,” Nino says when a group of girls shoot them a particularly nasty look on their way to an empty table. “I’ll be her shield.”

Both Marinette and Alya groan.

“That was terrible,” Alya says.

“And I can look after myself,” Marinette huffs. Just as they’re about to sit down at their table, she catches sight of Lila sitting alone at the edge of the room. Everyone’s clearly giving her a wide berth, judging by how people make an obvious effort to stay outside a certain radius if they have to walk past, and something in her stomach twists.

“Where are you going?” Alya says when Marinette picks up her tray again and heads straight for Lila. Everyone around her stares, and Lila narrows her eyes when Marinette draws near.

“Is this seat taken?” Marinette says brightly.

“Obviously not,” Lila scoffs. “And I don’t need you to come and start pitying me or whatever just because Ladybug told you to. I know you talk to her.”

“Who said this was pity?” Marinette sits down across from Lila and begins to twirl noodles around her fork. “I thought you might want a friend.”

“Yeah, right. After how I treated you? The only reason you’d be doing this is to suck up to Ladybug or whatever.”

“This might be a strange and foreign concept,” Marinette says, “but some people actually do forgive others. I don’t like how people are treating you just because Ladybug stood up for me.”

“What did she think was going to happen when she spoke out like that?” Lila says, but her shoulders seem just a fraction less stiff.

“Uh, Marinette?” Alya says from behind Marinette. “What’s going on?”

“I’m making a friend and I won’t take no for an answer,” Marinette says. Adrien’s the first one to cave, sliding into the seat next to Marinette and smiling at Lila.

“I told you there was no need for lying,” he says.

“Oh, shut up,” Lila snaps. “I already know you’re a smug idiot. You don’t need to open your mouth and prove it.”

“Harsh,” Nino says, but he still sits down next to Lila. “So, what music are you into, dude?”

“Oh, fine.” Alya sits down on the outside, next to Nino. “If Marinette can forgive then so can I.”

“Why are you being so nice to me?” Lila clenches her fists. “What do you want? People are never nice unless they want something. This isn’t the first school where someone’s tried to make friends with me.”

“But it is the first school where people still want to be friends regardless of whether you actually do know all the people you claimed to know,” Marinette counters calmly. “And I know what it’s like to have no friends. Before I met Adrien and Alya, I had no friends because Chloé would bully me so badly that people didn’t want to associate themselves with me. You know, in case Chloé targeted them too.”

“Sorry about that, by the way, dude,” Nino says. “I shouldn’t’ve let Chloé stop me from being your friend till now.”

Marinette just shrugs and takes another bite of her spaghetti.

“How the hell can you forgive people so easily?” Lila demands. “Everyone in the class turned their backs on you. They made you sit up the back. They wouldn’t be your friend because it would’ve made their lives harder. I threatened you and made people hate you. And you just – forgive. Why? How?”

“Because if I held on to all of that bitterness, I wouldn’t like the person I’d become,” Marinette says. “Just because I forgive doesn’t mean I forget what’s been done. I just don’t cling to it and let it poison me.”

Adrien takes her hand under the table and squeezes it, so she smiles back at him. Around the cafeteria, even more people are whispering at the sight of people actually choosing to sit with Lila, but she tunes them out.

“My parents are going out tonight, so I totally have to babysit Chris,” Nino says. “You guys wanna come and help? There’s Monopoly and Mario Party and unhealthy snacks in it for you.”

“You had me at Monopoly,” Alya says. “I will crush you, little boy.”

“You had me at unhealthy snacks,” Adrien says. “Man, I can’t remember the last time I ate real teenage junk food.”

“I’ll bring some pastries, then,” Marinette grins. “And I know that Chris likes chocolate croissants, so I’ll bring loads of them.”

“An angel has descended from the heavens to grace us with her presence!” Alya announces dramatically, waving her hands in Marinette’s direction. Marinette rolls her eyes but still laughs.

“You wanna come?” Nino says to Lila, who blinks and looks up from her food.

“What?”

“Do you wanna come and hang out too?” Nino says. “My parents don’t care who comes over, so long as the house isn’t totalled.”

“But if you pick Daisy in Mario Party, there will be consequences,” Alya says.

“Alya, you can’t threaten people not to pick your favourite character,” Marinette says.

“Oh, yeah? Watch me, Peach.”

“At least I’m not the one always getting kidnapped by the bad guys in real life.”

Without a word, Lila stands up with her tray and stalks out of the cafeteria.

“What’s her problem?��� Alya says.

“She probably doesn’t trust us yet,” Marinette says. “But we’ll keep trying, even if it takes months.”

“And if she still doesn’t like us?”

Marinette sighs. “That’s her choice. But I don’t want to act like she doesn’t deserve another chance if even Chloé can get another chance after everything she’s done.”

“You got a point there, dude,” Nino says, reaching across to high-five Marinette.

“Well, I hope you’re ready to lose to the power of Waluigi tonight, princess,” Adrien says with a grin.

“And Yoshi, when we team up to take down the princesses,” Nino says.

“Bring it on, meme lord,” Marinette says, cracking her knuckles.

#miraculous ladybug #ml season 3 spoilers #oblivio #post-oblivio #identity reveal #ml fic #adrinette #djwifi #marinette dupain-cheng #adrien agreste #alya cesaire #nino lahiffe #lila rossi #ladybug #chat noir #rena rouge #carapace #lila redemption #at long last lmao #luce bianca #aotq fic

[theangriestpea]

Mercy Killing

TW: Sexual assault reference

A/N: I couldn't think of a good way to end this one so it ends kind of abruptly and weirdly. My bad. My next day off isn't until Friday of NEXT week. So no telling when I'll get the next one out.

Mood board by @southsidersweetpea!

Chapter Ten: Lucky

Lavender’s eyes fluttered open as bright beams of sunlight filtered in through her blinds. Her head was throbbing painfully, stomach completely empty, and mouth dry as if it had been stuffed full of cotton all night. Bits and pieces of her memory eased back into her mind. Her confrontation with Kitty, drinking with James, playing pool, and…not much after that.

She had definitely thrown up at least once though, that she was sure of by the taste in her mouth. If she had had any nightmares last night, then she couldn’t remember them. That was good, at least.

A scent she recognized wafted into her nose, a scent she chose to not think of as her favorite even though it secretly was. “Sweet Pea?” Lavender asked, her voice coming out cracked from how dry her throat was. She was confused as to why he was there. Shouldn’t he be with Kitty?

Sweet Pea had already been awake. He had been lost in thought, staring at the wall as he held her close. He knew she wouldn’t remember last night. He knew and it already hurt his heart.

“Why are you here?” She dared to ask, confusion laced in her tone. She wanted to turn onto her side to look at him but that would have required to her lay on her still sore ribs.

“Someone had to make sure you didn’t choke on your own vomit.” Sweet Pea replied, pulling away from her now that she was awake. She suddenly felt cold without him. She was about to ask why Fangs didn’t do it but he interrupted her, “Why did you drink so much last night? Trying to impress your boyfriend?”

Lavender looked up at the ceiling, the light was hurting her eyes. “It makes me feel good.” She said, her voice barely above a whisper, “it helps me forget.”

Sweet Pea knew unhealthy coping mechanisms when he saw them, he had a few himself. However he knew going down this road could potentially be dangerous. Especially if she wanted to jump anyone that gave her attention when she was drunk. Any lesser man would have taken advantage of her and, though he hated to admit it, some of the other Serpents were lesser men. What if James had been the one to go after her? Would she have given herself to him at that moment too? Was it just luck that it was him?

“Oh God, James!” Lavender forced herself to sit up, creating more distance between them. She rubbed her eyes and groaned at the pain brought by sitting up quickly. “I left him there, didn’t I? What happened?”

He stared at the back of her head blankly. It was just as he predicted. “What’s the last thing you remember?”

“That bitch making me hit in the eight ball.” Lavender grumbled, her distaste for Kitty evident by the sound of her voice.

“You went into the back room to get another bottle of tequila to play another round. After you didn’t come back for a few minutes I checked on you and found you making out with Fangs. Then he had to carry you to the bathroom before you threw up all over him.” Sweet Pea said carefully, wondering if she’d believe him.

Lavender could remember kissing someone, and knowing it was someone she truly cared about made her feel somewhat better. Fangs was probably drunk too anyway so it didn’t matter much. There was a small smile on her face that Sweet Pea could simply not ignore.

Her smile quickly fell, “did he see? What happened with James?”

“He left looking pretty pissed.” Sweet Pea said calmly. “He didn’t have to see to know what happened.”

“Fuck.” She breathed out, getting out of bed to see that she was wearing a rather suggestive looking nightgown that she didn’t even know she owned. “Who dressed me?”

Sweet Pea rolled his eyes, “Toni and Cheryl. But you picked out the outfit.”

“I did?” She looked at herself in the mirror. Suddenly she felt very exposed as she noticed him staring at her in the mirror. “Stop looking at me!” She snapped at him as a blush crept across her cheeks.

He let out an annoyed sigh as he looked away from her.

“I better go apologize…” Lavender mumbled to herself, rummaging through her dresser for something more appropriate to wear. “I feel terrible.”

“As you should.” Sweet Pea said, but he didn’t think she should feel terrible for making James angry but rather for the way she threw herself at him and not remembering. How she seemed relieved to have been kissing Fangs and not anyone else. He needed to go home. Clear his own head.

Lavender felt her heart ache at his words. She didn’t mean to make anyone feel bad last night. She just drank way past her limit to make herself feel okay. Sweet Pea got out of the bed, he took a moment to stretch and Lavender found herself admiring the sliver of toned stomach that peeked out from under his shirt as he lifted his arms over his head.

She still didn’t understand why he was here, not really.

Sweet Pea didn’t say anything as he went into the other room to grab his keys and go home. He had slept in his clothes last night and needed a shower to get the smell of alcohol and cigarettes off of him.

Lavender bit her lip at his silence before quickly throwing on jeans and a tight fitted tee. She grabbed her keys to drive to James’ trailer located in another trailer park on the other end of the Southside.

*~~~~~~~~~~~*

Lavender arrived at James’ trailer, her heart thumping loudly in her chest. Would he even want to see her? Should she have called first? Why was she so impulsive sometimes?

She got out of her beat up Honda and walked up to his door, knocking on it. The silence seemed the drag on before she heard the door unlock and open. James didn’t look surprised to see her. He bit back his anger as he opened the door for her to come in.

Lavender anxiously stepped inside, not liking the look on his face. It wasn’t calm and collected like usual. There was this silent rage behind it that even she could detect.

He pushed the door shut, the wood slamming against the frame so hard that she jumped. Suddenly she knew this had been a mistake. A terrible mistake.

His hand shot out to grab her by the upper arm and pull her to him, his grip so tight that she knew it would bruise. Then a memory struck through her. The same grip on her that night. Holding her down and laughing, blue eyes flashing in the light of the nearby streetlight.

And then she knew where she recognized him from.

Lavender desperately tried to pull away from him, but he was too strong. James could tell by the look on her face that she knew. It wasn’t hard to figure out. His free hand went to the bottom hem of his gym shorts and he pulled them up so she could see the ghoulish skull tattoo that was the mark of a Ghoulie on his upper thigh. “What, Shanna? You really think I was interested in you? When you look like that?”

He laughed and god she knew that fucking laugh. She wanted to scream but she was frozen from fear. Her eyes wider than they’d ever been before as they looked at the smirk on his face. “You made me into an idiot last night, and I’m going to tell you now that you’re not going to do that again. And you’re not going to tell anyone about me either or else my boys and I will show you what we have in store for round number two.”

She couldn’t breathe. She could no longer feel the effects of her hangover as dread washed over her. Round Two. Would she even survive a second round of what they put her through? Did they not thoroughly break her the first time?

“W-Why?” She managed to choke out. “Why me?”

James stared her down, his face leaning down as if he was going to kiss her. She tried to pull away from him. “Jonathan Rhodes screwed Penny and Malachai over once pretty bad. Consider this payback.”

Her father had some kind of dealings with Ghoulies? Why? What was he doing with them? His answer just created more questions for her. Her attack hadn’t been just a run of bad luck. It had been premeditated. God, he had been so nice to her. Why was she such an idiot?

Sweet Pea was right the multiple times he called her dumb. He’d probably say it again when he found out. Rub it in her face, I told you so type deal. Or maybe he wouldn’t. Maybe he’d understand. Maybe he’d hold her for once during the day like he did during the night.

“What kind of girl sneaks off to make out with another guy while she’s on a date?” James asked her, making her swallow hard. “Guess what they say about you female snakes is true. You’re all loose. I’m surprised we had any trouble getting that knife handle into you.”

Again she wanted to scream, she pulled away once more but he just readjusted his grip on her bicep. “Now, you’re going to act like this conversation never happened. You’re going to pretend that you’re still into me. You’re going to continue to go on dates with me. And you’re going to be mine.”

Her eyes were on him but they weren’t focused. She was trying desperately to not think too deeply into what he meant by that. Another part of her was trying to figure out an escape. She could knee him but that would probably be a very bad idea. Seeing as this was his reaction to her just kissing another guy, what would he do if he found out how Fangs and Sweet Pea held her at night? What if he figured out they were watching over her like two adorable hawks?

Hawks that had been totally right about him. Hawks she should have listen to but didn’t and now she was in this horrible situation. “Are you listening to me, Shanna?” James asked, noting the look on her face. She seemed to be a million miles away.

She could only nod her head, afraid of what her voice would sound like. Afraid that she might break down fully. She didn’t want that. He didn’t deserve to see her like that. There were only four people on that short list and none of them where here right now.

James let go of her, stepping back though he still kept the same superior air about him. “You’re going to make up for your father’s mistake. How unlucky for you that he died before getting a chance to pay his dues.”

He laughed again and Lavender visibly flinched at the sound. The one person that made her feel normal. The one that didn’t constantly ask her how she was feeling or doing or treating her like she’d break. The one that made her smile at school when everyone else just made her want to cry. He just had to be a monster. It just couldn’t have been real. It was never real.

“Now, I’m actually busy today. So run back to your little reptiles and remember, we made up. I accepted your apology. We’ll be going out again soon.” James said, opening the door back up for her. Lavender nodded numbly, again she was unable to actually say anything. He practically shoved her out before slamming the door once more behind her.

Lavender felt numb. Not the good kind of numb that alcohol sometimes made her feel, but the terrible sinking numb that happened whenever too much was running through her head. She walked into her car and got in, quickly driving off to create as much distance between her and James as possible.

First she went to Fox Forest, parking her car and resting her head on the steering wheel. The first few minutes she was silent. Then, tears slowly started to crawl down her face. Lastly sobs shook her so hard that her ribs shot painful reminders through her body as to what the Ghoulies had already done to her. Her grip on the steering wheel was so tight that it was hurting her fingers. She wanted to crawl into the forest and die. Just wither away and forget all that was happening to her.

Two hours she sat there in hysterics before finally running out of tears. She didn’t want to be alone anymore. She need to tell someone what just happened. She was in too deep. She’d drown without a life jacket.

Lavender wiped her face and eyes before pulling out of her parking space and driving back to Sunnyside. She let herself go on autopilot, driving into her trailer’s driveway and parking there. After turning the car off, she got out and just started walking. There was no set destination, she just let her feet take her. Eventually she found herself in front of Sweet Pea’s trailer and she didn’t know why. Maybe this once he’d be nice to her. Maybe he’d realize how much trouble she was in.

She took a deep breath before going up his few stairs to knock on his door. After a few moments of hearing someone shuffling around inside, the door opened to reveal a topless Sweet Pea.

Lavender was too distraught to take in the view. She didn’t even notice he was half naked as she looked up at his face. It was evident that she’d been crying. In fact, it looked like she was about to do it again at any moment. “Rhodes?” He asked, confused by the sight of her. Didn’t she go to see James?

He realized it must have went very badly for her to come to him. He opened his mouth to speak but another voice overpowered his, “Sweetie Pea? Who’s at the door?”

A pained look crossed Lavender’s face at the sound of Kitty’s voice. She finally noticed his state of undress and quickly took off as fast as she could. She wanted to see him, confide in him, open up to him finally, and here he was with someone else.

She didn’t understand. Why did this feel like rejection when they weren’t even together? Why was her heart shattering? Worst of all, why was she surprised?

Once at her trailer she quickly got in and found a very concerned Fangs on her couch. “Sweets said you-“ He was cut off by her rushing over to him and clinging to him, yet another cry escaping from her broken form.

“Hey, hey, shhh.” Fangs said, rubbing her back. Sweet Pea had told him that she went to see James. He had the same thought that SP did, that it must have gone badly. “Was he that mad?”

Lavender went silent. That’s right. She couldn’t tell. She had worked up the courage to tell Sweet Pea but he had crushed it. Now she hadn’t the strength to tell even her best friend. “N-no,” She stuttered out. “That’s not it.”

“What is it then?”

“I can’t,” was all she could get out before tightening her grip on him. “I just can’t.”

Confused didn’t even begin to cover what Fangs was feeling. “Is this about you making out with Sweet Pea last night?”

Her head shot up to look at him, “What? He told me I made out with you?”

Fangs tried not to laugh. Sweet Pea had told him that he’d lied to Lavender about what happened. He had been too embarrassed to admit in front of her that he had kissed her back while being pretty much sober. He had only had a few shots compared to the fourth of a bottle and two drinks she’d had. Plus he had a much higher tolerance.

“Right, he lied. You practically jumped him in that store room. You two were getting very friendly by the time I found you.” Fangs said, wondering why she looked so mortified. Last night she had been so happy. Drunk but happy.

“So he carried me to the bathroom?” She mumbled her question, already knowing the answer.

Fangs nodded, “yes. And he demanded that he be the one to stay with you last night.”

Lavender planted her face into Fangs’ neck. She didn’t want to hear this. He wanted to be with her? Then why was he with Kitty just now? “I’m so confused.”

“Is it really that confusing? You have undeniable chemistry that both of you refuse to acknowledge.” Fangs said. “Maybe if you just gave it a chance-“

“I can’t.” Lav quickly said. “I’m with James now.” The way she said it made Fangs feel unnerved. Like she was afraid. His suspicion of how her talk with him only grew even more.

“Okay…okay, let’s just Netflix and chill without the sex then.” Fangs said, pushing his own worries away for the time being in order to comfort her.

#mercykilling #purpuraserpenta #sweet pea #sweet pea fanfiction #sweet pea fanfic #riverrdale fanfiction #riverdale fanfic #riverdale #fanfiction #sp x oc #sweet pea x oc #oc #riverdale oc #original character #it's getting there #fangs fogarty

[amillionsmiles]

like we’re made of starlight (Peter/Lara Jean)

Summary: “Lara Jean, you’re a person before anything else.  I stopped having a perfect image of you in my head a long time ago.” / Peter and Lara Jean go camping in December to catch the Geminids.  Oneshot. A/N: squeaking by and getting this in before the new year, whoo!  belated bday fic for @adribug .  I’m a little rusty writing for these two but I hope you enjoy some couple fluff >.<

[Read and review here] or continue under the cut.

I have this theory about love.

It involves layers—so that a relationship might have its gooey childhood phase, and then its teenage years, and if you're lucky you eventually get to the sweet, solid outer coating of an adult kind of love.

"Like an onion," Peter says, the first time I bring this up.

I frown. "I was thinking more like… candy. Like a tootsie pop. Or…" I look out the window, to where the dense green forest blurs by, a solid backdrop behind the other cars whizzing down the highway. "Or tree rings. So if you sliced a relationship, you'd be able to see its stages of growth. And the deeper the feelings, the wider the ring. Or maybe width should be determined by the length of time…" I'm puzzling through the specifics of my metaphor now, wondering what my relationship with Peter would look like, if it were documented in tree rings.

"Like that lab we did in environmental science," Peter says, drumming his fingers on the steering wheel.

I feel a bit bad that he's driving, especially since he already drove four hours to pick me up from school. "Y'all are gross," my friend Marcie said when we found him waiting at the Old Well. Marcie's like that. I introduced her to Peter the first time he came to visit, back in early October; she gave him a hard time then, but I could tell it was because she was testing him. By the end of the day, he'd definitely passed.

Today, we spent some time walking around so Peter could stretch his legs and eat a late lunch, and then it was back in the car. There's supposed to be a big meteor shower tonight—the Geminids—and Peter and I thought it'd be fun to actually camp out to see them, in the woods with a tent and everything. We made reservations at Jones Lake State Park, which is about two hours away. I couldn't have planned it more perfectly; our schedules are both wide open because of Reading Day, though I still have two finals coming up later this week, and Peter has one.

I offered to drive, but Peter had to take the van in order to fit our camping gear, and I'm not as good at handling bigger cars. I make up for it by feeding Peter bites of the special sandwiches I prepared: muffaleta with an olive-oregano-onion mix, pepperoni, prosciutto, and provolone. As Peter pulls away, chewing, several crumbs stick to the corner of his mouth.

"So where are we in all of this?" he asks.

"What?"

"You said there was teenage love and then there was 'adult love.' Which one are we?"

I consider. We're both technically adults, in the barest sense of the word, and I can see how a semester at college has already changed us. College Peter has gotten more muscular from all his lacrosse practice. He moves with less swagger—not in a bad way, but as if he doesn't have as much to compensate for. It's a quieter kind of confidence, which I like.

But then, of course, there are all the ways that College Peter is exactly the same. He still calls me at night, right before either of us falls asleep. He still smells like Dove soap, the soft, clean boy-scent I've come to associate with comfort, and he still makes my heart beat fast when he looks over with that crooked smile of his, the light from the dying sun catching in his eyes.

I tap a finger against my lips and smile back, considering.

"I'm still figuring out," I say.

*.*.*.*

We get to the park an hour before closing.

Loose sticks and gravel crunch under our tires as we pull into our campsite. I'm out of the car as soon as Peter parks, marveling at our view.

"Peter, look, isn't it gorgeous?" We're right by the shore of the lake; in front of me stretch the placid waters, like a mirror of the sky. The surface is so still it looks like glass—I feel like if I throw a pebble at it, I'll shatter something.

Peter grunts as he starts to unload our equipment. I hurry to help him. The food takes some time to get organized. Even though it's just the two of us, I wanted the full experience, so I bought all the ingredients for s'mores. Then there are the sandwiches I made for us to eat for dinner, with plenty of extras because I know Peter will get hungry. Finally, the burritos I prepared for breakfast tomorrow, wrapped neatly in foil so that we can just heat them over the fire.

The tent takes a little more work, but we get it finished in time to watch the sunset. The meteors aren't expected to become visible until 7:30 PM, and they probably won't be at their peak until well past that, so Peter and I entertain ourselves with a puzzle and a deck of cards. I've recently started watching magic tricks on YouTube and figure that Peter's a good a person to try them out on, mostly because I know how to distract him.

All in all, things are going well, up until I need to use the restroom and remember that we're in the middle of nowhere.

When I bring this up, Peter looks unconcerned. "Just go in the woods, Lara Jean, haven't you ever been camping before?"

"Of course I have!" Twice. "But it's all dark and cold outside, and the trees are too far apart. I'll feel exposed."

"There's nobody around. And you'll be out in the open for five minutes, tops."

"Easy for you to say, you're a boy. You can just—" I pantomime the motion with my hands, which makes Peter redden slightly. His eyes dart around the tent, looking anywhere but at my face. After a beat, he heaves a sigh and gets to his feet, grabbing his fleecy orange and blue Cavaliers blanket.

"What are you doing?" I stare at him blankly.

Peter stares right back. "Coming with you. I'll hold up the blanket as a screen so you can do your…" he gestures aimlessly, "…business."

"Oh." My voice goes small. "Well, that's okay—"

Too late. Peter has a hand on the small of my back now and uses it to usher me out of the tent. I barely manage to grab the bag of wet wipes before we're both out in the cold, tucking our chins against our necks and hunching over to keep warm. Peter sets the pace; meanwhile, I stumble after him with the flashlight, casting a wobbly yellow beam on the ground in front of us.

Camping out in a cozy tent under the stars in order to catch a meteor shower? Romantic. Having your boyfriend accompany you into the woods so that you don't have to pee alone in the dark? Admittedly less so.

"Is this good?" Peter stops and looks back at me, gesturing toward a copse of trees. If I squint, I can make out the light of our campfire in the distance, but we're far enough away that if I shut off the flashlight we'll be plunged into relative darkness. I do that now, handing over the flashlight to Peter and fumbling blindly with all my layers. Margot taught me that it helps to find a thin tree trunk to hold onto for balance—then you can sit back just like you'd do at home.

Behind me, there's a rustle: Peter holding up his makeshift blanket-screen.

"Don't look!" I hiss.

"I can't see anything to begin with," Peter argues, but I know he probably has his eyes squeezed shut anyways. The air is biting cold against my skin, the woods eerily quiet, and I'm suddenly self-conscious. It's a weird feeling, to be made vulnerable by something so—mundane, as Margot would call it.

"Can you also, like—cover your ears?"

"Lara Jean," Peter says, and it's in his I'm trying very hard to be patient voice. "Look, you're a person before anything else. I stopped having a perfect image of you in my head a long time ago. Just pee."

I pause. "That's… actually really sweet, Peter."

"Always the tone of surprise," Peter grumbles, but I can tell he's pleased.

We know each other well, that way.

*.*.*.*

"Remember the poem you gave me junior year, for Valentine's Day?"

I say this with my ear pressed against Peter's chest, trying to hear his heartbeat through the puffy jacket he's wearing. From this angle, it's easy to pretend we're in a snowglobe—the sky seems to curve over us like a dome, the stars suspended like tiny flakes of glitter. Peter shifts to put his hand behind his head.

"The moon never beams without bringing me dreams / Of beautiful Lara Jean. / And stars never rise but I feel the bright eyes / of beautiful Lara Jean," he recites. "I'm still flattered that you thought I could come up with that, even for a second."

"It's not too late to start trying now," I say, batting my eyelashes at him.

Peter laughs. I like that I can feel the rumble of it right against my cheek, all warm and chocolatey. He's been fiddling with my hair—one of his fingers gets caught in a snag and he untangles it gently, the way Kitty taught him how. I file that gesture away. When I have a daughter, I'll tell her: it's important to be with someone who has careful hands.

"Maybe I'll take a creative writing class next semester," muses Peter. "And then I really will write you an actual poem."

"I'll keep it framed in my room if you do," I tell him seriously.

"Speaking of rooms, you never ended up helping me decorate mine, by the way. It needs some of your…" His hand flails. "Pizzazz."

I giggle. "Say that again."

"Pizzazz?"

"Cute." I pinch his cheek, which makes Peter roll his eyes. "What kind of vibe were you thinking?"

"I don't know." Peter's brow furrows. "Some string lights might be cool, for starters. I like the ones you have. Maybe not in pink, though."

"We can look through Pinterest together," I promise. "And then we'll go—oh, Peter, did you see that?"

"Yeah," Peter says, and then we're both pushing ourselves up on our elbows, craning our necks. More silver flashes streak across the sky, like the briefest glimpse of fish scales. A parade of meteors, of falling stars.

On the blanket, Peter's hand covers mine. He squeezes.

"Make a wish."

*.*.*.*

We go back inside the tent at around 2 AM. Cheeks numb from the cold, I immediately kick off my shoes and pull on an extra pair of socks before wriggling into my sleeping bag. Peter is close behind, already yawning, and as I turn to watch him, I realize that this is the first full night we're spending together, all by ourselves. No curfews, no one waiting for us to come home. I don't even know if Peter snores, which is a strange thing to think about, a piece of information you wouldn't expect to be missing after dating someone for almost three years—after knowing them for even longer.

And what if he does snore? What if it's so loud it keeps me awake all night so that I'm cranky and can't stand to look at his pretty-boy face in the morning? And what might he learn about me, up close?

"Go to sleep, Lara Jean." Peter grumbles, his eyes shut. "I can feel you looking at me."

Scoffing, I retort, "You like being looked at." And then I roll closer, so that we're almost nose to nose, our knees bumping gently against each other, swaddled in our sleeping bags.

Maybe this is the difference between teenage love and adult love. Shedding the mystery and the allure of nighttime for the promise of morning, when we'll be at our barest. The bad breath and the messy hair and the little annoyances; the wanting to be close in spite of it all. Or maybe it's all the same in the end, night bleeding into day, and I don't need any more theories when I have the real deal right here, sleeping soft and slow. Waiting for me when I wake up.

I close my eyes.

#tatbilb #covinsky #peter kavinsky #lara jean song covey #otp: my first love story #jenny han #my writing #fanfiction #ff: tatbilb #anyways shirley !!! i can't believe how many years it's been #i'm so glad we finally got to meet irl and look forward to more meet ups #thank you for always being so funny and relatable and encouraging #hang in there and keep kicking ass at your pharm program !

[eikatsukiyomi]

Marinette, Twice Exposed

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Chapter 3: Excitement For Tomorrow

Marinette would have assumed that, upon kissing her crush, Adrien Agreste, a.k.a., her partner, Chat Noir, and finding herself wrapped in his warm embrace, she would have fainted from the shock to her heart....but then again, if anything, the kiss alone should have done her in.  Now that she was here, however, she was content to stay here, all night long...doing what, exactly, she couldn’t have told you, but it would most definitely have involved her aforementioned partner/crush.

She was just starting to consider her options...

Was she brave enough to lead him to her lounger, where they would be more comfortable?  Or up to her bed, even?!  Where they could snuggle...just snuggle!  Well, and kiss some more, maybe…

...Until she tried and and failed to stifle a yawn.

Darn it!  No!  You CANNOT get sleepy now!    

Adrien was smacked in the face with the realization the passage of time did not, in fact, suspend itself for romantic moments.

“Oh no, I completely forgot how late it was!” he exclaimed, grimacing apologetically.  “What time even is it?”  His head whipped left and right and all around the room cluelessly, wondering if there was a clock in her room.

“I dunno…” Marinette murmured vaguely, glancing briefly at her computer monitor with no real interest in it; the screen was black, obviously in sleep mode.  Who cares? She thought.  Why would I want to go to sleep when I could keep kissing the love of my life?

“Well, as much as I don’t want to, I should leave and let you get to bed.”  He smiled awkwardly.  “We both have school in the morning, and...well, yeah.”

“Oh god, school!” Marinette exclaimed, her eyes suddenly bugging out.  “What are we going to do about school?  I mean,” she continued in response to Adrien’s questioning look.  “We’re...um,” she pressed her lips together and looked nervously bashful.  “We’re...now that we clearly feel...the same way about each other, then...technically, we’re...together?” she hedged, looking at him out of the corner of one eye.  “So, then...we’re the only ones who know our secret identities, but no one else is going to know we’re a thing at all...unless we tell people we’re dating…?  I assume we’re dating now, r i g h t…?”

“Um, yes!” Adrien replied emphatically, nodding rapidly at her.  “Totally, completely, and absolutely!  But…” he furrowed his brow thoughtfully, reminding himself that he had his father’s company’s image to keep in mind.  “I actually might have to talk to my father’s assistent about my updated relationship status before we risk letting it go public.”  He grimaced apologetically.  “I would have no problem declaring it to the whole world, but, unfortunately, it could be a PR issue if we don’t have a plan for it.”

“Yeah, you’re right…” Marinette agreed, frowning thoughtfully.  “I would definitely rather keep dealing with the press as Ladybug and Chat Noir, and not get stalked by the paparazzi just because we’re dating.  Oh, god!” she blurted suddenly, “Am I going to be attacked by fangirls?!”

Adrien winced.  Dealing with overexcited fans was never fun for him, but most of time, they could be satisfied with an autograph (as much as he hated signing autographs), and he then could go on his merry way.  In addition, he was usually accompanied by his bodyguard, who was intimidating enough to ward off anybody who might otherwise get all up in his face.  Marinette, one other hand, was a whole other story: people who might swarm her out of interest in her relationship with him wouldn’t be seeking autographs; they would either bombard her with questions (many times more aggravating than just squealing about how handsome he was) or (much worse) blow their jealousy and resentment at her.  Worst case scenario, she could be attacked by some truly crazy “fans” of his!

“We’ll probably be dating in secret for a while, until we have a plan for the whole thing,” he said.  “But my bodyguard is almost always with me when I’m not at home or at school, and nothing’s ever gone out-of-control with him around.  We will definitely make it work out, I promise.”  He brought a hand up to her face to brush her bangs across her forehead affectionately.  “We’re already an inseparable team!  There’s nothing that could take me away from you.”

Marinette beamed at him and shyly wrapped her arms around his neck.  Adrien resisted the urge to scoop her up and start kissing her again by the skin of his teeth.

“I know,” she said.  “If there’s anything I’ve always believed in, it’s your loyalty.  We’ve always had each other's’ backs, and we’ll take down any crazy fangirls dumb enough to think they can steal you from me, or drive me off!”  She inclined her head and raised her eyebrows coyly, her gaze piercing straight through him.  “If I’m your lady, then you’re my kitty...so nobody else can have you...right?”

Adrien just about hiccuped around his own heart, which felt like it had slammed itself against his rib cage. He wasn’t sure how long it had been since he hadn’t been blushing, but now, he was pretty sure he was glowing bubblegum pink.  He nodded dumbly, inwardly swooning.

Oh, hell, yes...I am all yours, my lady… he gushed.  Your k i t t y…!

Marinette giggled at the look on his face, and Adrien grinned giddily.

Marinette thought, How did I miss what an adorable dork this boy is?  Actually, I probably always knew--Chat Noir was always a character--I just never acknowledged how lovable he was because I had my heart set on Adrien.  Which, of course, meant I was ignoring him half the time.

“So...now that we’ve established that we’re...a...couple…?” Marinette hedged shyly.

Adrien pressed his lips together in a poorly-concealed giddy smile and only slightly muffled a squeaky giggle.  Marinette grinned at him.

“...we’ll just have to avoid public displays of affection as long as we’re keeping our relationship a secret.  But since that’s gonna make going out on traditional dates kinda difficult…”  She bit her lip and hesitated, blushing self-consciously.  “...we might have to...arrange some secret visits.  So we can spend some more time together…?”

Is she suggesting what I think she is? Adrien wondered excitedly. 

“So...correct me if I’m wrong, my lady,” he said.  “But, are you suggesting we schedule secret nighttime rendezvouses?!”

Marinette blushed harder and squeaked.

“If...that’s what you wanna call them, yeah…” she murmured, looking up at him.

Adrien fought the sudden urge to do a fist pump.

“Mm-kay!” he squeaked.  “Cool! Yeah, I’m--I’m down with that!  Cool!”

Marinette snorted with amusement.  She opened her mouth to reply, but yawned again.

“Oh my god, why am I still here?” Adrien said, shaking his head at himself.  “I don’t know how much sleep we’re going to get at this rate, but I should still go and let you get to bed.”  He meant to stand up as he said this, but his legs didn’t respond.  He just kept smiling at her, not wanting to leave at all.

“I guess so…” Marinette mused.  She stared back at him, and finally said, “Just so you know...the only reason I’m not kissing you again is because I’d just end up keeping us both awake for another hour, probably.”

“Same,” Adrien replied.  “So, I guess I should just get going before we give into temptation?”

“Yeah, that would be a good idea.”  Marinette took a breath and then stood up, pulling him up with her by the hands.  “Come on.”

“I might as well transform before I get outside,” he remarked.  “No need to light up your balcony in the dark!”

“Oh, yeah, good point.”

“Plagg!  Transform me!”

Marinette’s hands came up in surprise as he was engulfed in light.  When Chat Noir reappeared where Adrien Agreste had been a second earlier, Marinette reached up and ruffled his hair.

“Why does your hairstyle change when you transform?” she asked.  “Mine doesn’t.”

“Good question,” he said, chuckling.  “But I’m sure it helps keep me from being recognized.  And while wearing the suit, I think it suits me!”  He grinned and chuckled at his own pun.  Marinette couldn’t keep her giggle in; this was 100% pure Chat Noir, right here.

“Now I’m gonna try photoshopping your two different hairstyles onto both of you!  For my own amusement, of course!” Marinette laughed.

“Now, I’ve gotta see that!” Chat Noir laughed back.  

He climbed up the steps to Marinette’s bed with Marinette right behind him.  He pushed the trap door open  as she scooted back against her pillows and tucked herself under her bedcovers.

Before climbing out, he turned to look at Marinette.

“Well, I’ll see you in the morning at school!” he said, smiling warmly.  Oh, god, I want to kiss her so bad…

“Yeah!  See you,” she whispered.  Oh, I know this is where we’re supposed to kiss goodnight!  But if we do, I’m gonna want to keep him here...maybe he could sleep here with me?!  No, no, get a grip Marinette; you’ll be WAY too excited to fall asleep with him so close!  Save that for another night, maybe.

“Goodnight, Marinette...my lady,”  he reached toward her and pulled her hand to his lips.  “Sweet dreams.”

Never mind, scratch that, kiss me now, please.

What she said instead was, “Good night, Adrien...my kitty.”

And with that, Chat Noir finally managed to turn and hoist himself up onto her balcony.  Once his tail has slipped out of sight and she couldn’t hear his footfalls, she stretched up and closed the trapdoor, securing the latch.

As she slid herself down under the covers and adjusted her pillow, Tikki flew out of wherever she had been hiding all this time and settled down beside her.

“Tikki!  You could have introduced yourself.”

“I will, but I didn’t want to interupt your private moment,” Tikki said simply, smiling.

“You aren’t mad that Chat Noir found out who I am, are you?” Marinette asked.

“No, I’m not mad!” Tikki replied, gesturing reassuringly with her tiny little paws.  “You didn’t do anything wrong; Chat Noir just happened to be there to catch you changing back, and there wasn’t really any way we could have known he was there if he was being just as careful as we were.”

“That’s kind of what I thought, but I’m glad you agree.  And if anybody had to find out, Chat Noir was by far the best person to do it, right?”

“Definitely,” Tikki said with a nod.  “You two can help look out for each other now that you both know each other’s identities.  I’m not worried.”

Marinette used a finger to pet Tikki on the head.

“I’m lucky to have you looking out for me, too, Tikki,” she said.  Struck by a sudden thought, she asked, “Did you ever think that Chat Noir and I would fall in love and end up together?”

Tikki giggled.

“Actually, I suspected you would from the beginning; every kwami can sense the auras of other kwami, especially when the powers of the miraculouses are activated, so I when you fell in love with Adrien, I had a really good feeling about you two...and now I know I was right.”

“Seriously?  And you kept it all a secret so I wouldn’t know his secret identity?”  Marinette smirked teasingly at Tikki with one eyebrow raised.  “That seems like overkill!”

“It’s always better to be safe than sorry.  I’ve lived a very, very long time, so I’ve learned how important secrecy is for protecting Ladybug and Chat Noir.  But it’s true that they usually discover each other’s secret identities eventually.  It’s just safer this way.”

“I think I get it,” Marinette said  thoughtfully.  She yawned again.

“You’d better get some sleep while you can!” Tikki chirped.  “You’re going to be exhausted tomorrow as it is.”

“Yeah, I know…”  Marinette settled down into a comfortable position and pulled the covers over her shoulders.  “Goodnight, Tikki.”

“Goodnight!”

Marinette smiled as she closed her eyes, visions of Adrien and Chat Noir swimming behind her eyelids.

I can’t wait to see you tomorrow, kitten.  We have a lot of wasted time to catch up on!

Settled under the covers of his own bed, Adrien stared sleepily at the ceiling, visions of Marinette and Ladybug swimming through his head.

I don’t know if I’ll be able to stop myself from kissing you as soon as I see you tomorrow, Bugiboo.  You are everything I’ve ever dreamed of, and now I finally have your love…

He rolled over and closed his eyes, unable to keep the smile off his face.  It was still there as he fell asleep, dreaming of the next morning when he would hold his lady in his arms again...or tomorrow night, if she insisted he be patient.

THE END

...Unless you all would like an epilogue?

#my fanfiction #miraculous ladybug #adrienette #marichat #marinette twice exposed

[baekyeolife]

To Break Shattered Glass--Baekyeol; Part 1

Highschool. It was known to be a monster, to say the least. Baekhyun remembered his middle school teachers telling him about the horrors of bullies, the mockery of teachers, and the tiring amounts of work and exams. Needless to say, they were completely right.

He thought he was just floating by, though. He wasn't one of the main faces that always stroke up conversations or created lively banter. He just showed up, beared through the classes and then went right back home.

It was a dull routine, as mundane as a high school student’s life was. However, it all took a twist when the school’s jock, Park Chanyeol, approached him one Monday morning; as cliche as that was.

Baekhyun was at his locker at the time, taking out his textbooks and putting in the ones he wouldn’t use until that afternoon. As he was sorting through his bag, a presence had filled the spot next to the door of his locker. At first he hadn’t sensed it, but when that unearthly deep voice spoke, his attention was hooked and captured.

“Hey, Baekhyun?”

Swallowing, Baekhyun looked over with wide, innocent eyes. “Y-Yes?”

“I know this may seem like it’s out of the blue, but I was wondering if you would like to go out on a date with me.”

Light pink lips slipped open, but not to the extent of jaw dropping surprise, even though he was indeed shocked. He felt his face flush as a violent heat wave surged over him-- he had no idea how to respond, this was unexpected on a whole new level.

Park Chanyeol was a member of the football team, as well as the bassist of their school’s hottest band, Galaxy. Not only was he adored by most, but he was also one of the top students in their grade. No one knew how he did it, but that was one of the reasons why many people admired him, Baekhyun being one of them. But the last time he checked, Chanyeol was dating the lead singer of Galaxy, Yena. Emphasis on Yena, who was a girl.

Chanyeol being gay or bisexual had never occurred to him, and even if he was either or, dating Baekhyun out of everyone else was something he thought would simply never happen.

“Um, m-me?” He pointed to himself as if that would make his question anymore clearer, but it only earned him a smirk and a small laugh. He mentally cursed himself after he thought on his action.

“Yes, you. Should I take that as a no?”

Baekhyun’s heart shook, as his knees became dangerously wobbly. “N-No! I-I mean… yes-- n-not to what you just said, but for wh-what you asked be-before…” He stopped himself from continuing the rambling mess and bit down on his lip, abashed.

Chanyeol smiled that charming toothy smile that he was known for and took out a piece of paper from his pocket. Baekhyun grew hotter. “This is my phone number.” He handed it to him. “Would Friday night work for you? Can I pick you up at around eight o’clock?”

“Uh, Y-Yes.. That’s fine.” Baekhyun opened up one of his notebooks and scribbled down his address and phone number, then gave it to him, albeit rather shakingly.

“Alright, I’ll see you then.” He sent him a wink then walked away, hands still deep into his dark jeans.

* * *

Baekhyun was working on his calculus homework in the library when a breeze blew past his hair, causing him to look up and see Kim Jongdae sitting on the chair right next to him. “Have you taken your medicine?” That was the first thing he said, much to Baekhyun’s annoyance.

“Hello to you too.”

Jongdae threw him a look, “Come on, I’m just making sure that you remembered.”

“I took them, don’t worry.” He said, then noticed his sticky, wet hair along with his long jersey and sports shorts. “How was soccer practice?”

Jongdae laid back on the chair and released a puff of air. “Coach made us run six miles-- three to Hundmil’s Park and three back. I felt like hell was calling out to me.”

Baekhyun pressed his lips together, “Don’t say that, you’re lucky you can actually do things like this. I can’t even run without feeling faint.”

Jongdae sat up and turned his lips down pitifully. “I’m sorry, I’m an idiot. But you know you’re not even missing out on much. At least you wake up the next morning feeling your legs, eh?” He jokingly punched him on his arm with a face that you could not help but laugh at.

“Don’t try to make my condition sound good, because it’s not. But let’s just forget about it-- where is Kyungsoo? Did he not go to practice with you?”

Jongdae shrugged, “He ran out afterwards. Probably went to Sehun’s place to play that new video game he was talking about before. They’re gonna stay rooted to that controller all weekend, so I guess it’ll just be you and me at the arcade.”

Baekhyun almost gasped, having remembered a detail that he had to tell his best friend. “About that…”

“Oh, come on, not you too! What do you have going on that’s better than playing Smashers 2k17?”

He licked his lips, smiling despite himself. “I actually have… a date.”

Backtracking, Jongdae blinked. “A date? With who?”

“Park Chanyeol.”

“Park Chanyeol?” He questioned, having almost forgotten who he was until a spark lit up in the train tracks of his brain, and a charcoal headed man with a bass in his arms appeared in his conscience. “Oh lord-- Park Chanyeol? My god, that’s-that’s great! Your dream boy finally noticed you!”

Gasping, Baekhyun whacked him with his folder, “D-Don’t say it so loudly!”

“Well it’s a big deal! You’ve had a crush on him since middle school.” Jongdae beamed at him, more excited than Baekhyun seems to be about the whole ordeal, but that was an understatement. “Wow, eight years of bottled up feelings are finally coming out! I had no idea the guy was even gay!”

Sliding his hand down his face, Baekhyun glared at him. “Can you be any louder? Oh my god you are so embarrassing.”

Jongdae was still beaming, not paying mind to his humiliated friend. “I’m just so happy for you, Baek. And the fact that you actually accepted is amazing. I thought you said you weren’t going to date for now.”

“I did… but I don’t know, when Chanyeol came up to me my heart felt like it was actually beating normally… like it was meant to go that fast without it meaning something terrible. It was new, and the answer just came out by itself.”

Jongdae came in for a giant hug, “My boy is finally opening up. This has got to be the best day ever since Kim Jongin’s towel fell off of him in the boy’s locker room.”

They shared a giggle and Baekhyun felt genuinely happy for once.

* * *

Baekhyun chose to dress in some slim jeans and a navy vest; not too fancy to be embarrassing, or too casual to give off the impression that he hadn’t tried hard enough. As he waited for Chanyeol, he took in a few deep breaths to pace himself. He hadn’t gone out with anyone ever since freshmen year, and he now was in his senior year. Exposing himself to the dating world meant that he was putting himself out there, and to be frank, that was scary to him.

A knock echoed throughout the small, empty apartment. He stood up and took in another deep breath before opening the door, revealing Park Chanyeol in his dark t-shirt and denims. He made Baekhyun look fancy, but he tried not to pay too much mind too it.

“Are you ready?”

Baekhyun instinctively scratched the back of his head and nodded, then came out and closed the door behind him. They walked down the sidewalk until they had reached a food truck, and although Baekhyun did indeed have a more glamourous idea of how the night would start, he acted okay with it. After all, they weren’t millionaires who could afford a fancy dinner.

They ordered and when it was silent for an extended period of time, Baekhyun put forth a conversation.

“So, um… have you always lived in Korea?” He began and he would admit that it was a slow move, but it was all he had. Plus, he was genuinely interested. Yes, he and Chanyeol used to attend the same middle school, but that was all. He never knew who Park Chanyeol truly was.

“Yeah, I was born in Seoul. What about you?” He asked back, but there was something off about his tone. He sounded indifferent, as if he didn’t really care. It made Baekhyun more self-conscious than he was before.

“I lived in Seoul most of my life, but I was born in the states.”

“Oh wow, the states? Why would you come to Korea when you could have stayed in the states? I heard it’s incredible over there.” Chanyeol became heedful, but Baekhyun didn’t like that it was about this topic.

“My… mother died while giving birth to me,” he cleared his throat and tried not to make it sound dramatic, because in all actuality it wasn’t. At least to him. “My aunt took care of me and brought me over here when I was old enough. I live alone now, though. She also passed away.”

Chanyeol frowned sympathetically, “I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine. It’s in the past now, I guess.” Baekhyun looked away and the discussion stopped there.

As they continued to walk aimlessly, a small shadowed figure swiftly skipped over their feet, which caused Chanyeol to jump horrifically. “What the hell was that?” He asked, eyes bulging out of their sockets.

Baekhyun looked over at the dark corner and found two white pears staring back at him. He grinned and approached it, but Chanyeol held onto his elbow to prevent him. “What are you doing? It’s filthy.”

He looked back at him knowingly. “And why do you think so? Because she’s been neglected from everyone who could take care of her. We could save her.” He walked towards the corner and slowly stuck his hand out towards the small creature.

“Hey, it’s alright. We’re not going to hurt you.” Baekhyun cooed as the kitty limped outside of the shadows and into sight, it’s caramel fur shining under the moonlight. “You see, she’s hurt.” He lifted her into his arms and Chanyeol came closer, watching as Baekhyun stroked her gently.

“You’re really good with her.” He said, almost surprised.

“You just have to be careful. She’s probably been through so much, poor little thing.” Baekhyun pouted as he rocked her back and forth, as if she was a baby. Chanyeol smiled despite himself. “Do you mind if we take her back to my apartment and clean her up? I-I know it’s our first date--”

Chanyeol cut him off with a small chuckle, “--It’s alright, I don’t mind.”

They walked back to Baekhyun’s apartment and arranged a bath for the feline. It was going smoothly until they placed her into the water, where she rebelled and squirmed all over the place. Somehow, she had splashed in a way that only got Chanyeol soaking wet.

Baekhyun’s jaw dropped as his eyes enlarged, “Oh my gosh, you’re all wet. I-I’ll go get you something to change into. ” He was about to stand up, but Chanyeol held him back.

“After the bath, she’s probably not done splashing.”

Baekhyun nodded and reluctantly sat back down. They continued to clean her off while Baekhyun stole short glances at Chanyeol. He couldn’t help it. The man was in his bathroom helping him give a cat a bath-- this was a scenario he never even imagined would ever happen.

When they were finished, Baekhyun wrapped the cat in a towel and ruffled her dry. He then went over to his room and grabbed Chanyeol a plain t-shirt from his closet.

Chanyeol took off his wet shirt and gave Baekhyun a full view of his perfectly sculpted chest. As ridiculous as it sounded, his biceps literally glistened as small droplets of water strayed down to the floor. Baekhyun couldn’t look away, even though he knew he probably should.

His eyes trickled down his biceps and to the rest of him and when he got to his lean abs, he recognized dark bruises staining the golden flesh. Scrutinizing, he came closer and touched the marks naturally, as if he couldn’t help himself. And in part, he truly couldn’t.

“What’s this?” He looked up at him, concern drizzled all over his features. When their eyes clicked, though, he swiped his hand away and hid it behind his back.

“It’s just a football accident. It’s not exactly the most gentle sport.” Chanyeol was nonchalant about it, and it frightened Baekhyun moreso. That meant he was used to it.

“I have some ointment here in the cabinet that can help. Just let me go get it and it’ll heal much faster.”

“You don’t have to do that, really, it’s okay--”

“--No, it’s not. It can worsen over time. Don’t worry, it will only take one second.” It was Baekhyun who cut him off this time. He was not rudely curt, but he wasn’t going to take no for an answer. Therefore, he made for the cabinet inside his bathroom and came out while popping the cap. He squeezed some of the gel onto his fingers and peeked up at him from under his auburn lashes.

“Do you mind?” He asked, and Chanyeol not so subtly scratched the back of his neck before he shook his head.

Baekhyun spread the cream around the darkened spots softly, caressing the hard skin like he would to a baby. Touching Chanyeol like this, though, made his heart race as it tried to keep up with his maddening thoughts. He had only admired this gorgeous man from afar for literally half of his life, and now he was closer than ever before. He wasn’t a creep or anything, it just felt surreal.

He traced his fingers up the bruises and swiped over his pectoral muscles, brushing tenderly. His eyes scanned there way up to another set of chocolate chip cookies, where they absorbed their secrets and made him wonder, yet again: who are you Park Chanyeol?

“Uh, t-there you go.” Baekhyun blinked away and took his hand off, but Chanyeol suddenly touched his chin and made him turn his head back towards him. He looked at him with a sort of emotion that Baekhyun hadn’t seen at all during their ‘date.’ It was a mix of conflict and hesitance as if he wanted to do one thing, but another was stopping him.

Baekhyun stood frozen as Chanyeol held him under his internal dispute, and it alarmed him at one point, up until Chanyeol began to gradually lean in. He swallowed nervously and after a few inches more, their lips had met in a light kiss.

It was feathery. Baekhyun could feel the warmth in his touch, but it was so soft that he could barely grasp it. Chanyeol aided in that, though, and pulled him closer as the kiss deepened and grew inflamed. He didn’t even think about the ointment getting all over his shirt and only wrapped his arm around Chanyeol’s shoulders, then dug one into his fluffy locks.

Chanyeol started to walk backwards and guided him to the bedroom, where they fell back on the bed and continued their endless plethora of kisses. It was inflamed and roaring with strength, and Baekhyun couldn’t get enough. However, when Chanyeol slid his hand down to his belt and began to unbuckle it, Baekhyun stopped his movements.

Their breathing was harsh and their eyes were beating as Chanyeol searched his in question. “I-I can’t do this.” He had said, and it felt like one of the hardest things that he had ever said, believe it or not. Their chests were panting, reaching out to get more of one another in a fiery haste, and aching because they couldn’t.

Chanyeol was giving him that look again-- the one of internal conflict and perplexity. He eventually broke away and got off of him, which left Baekhyun with a terrible empty and bleak pit in his stomach.

“It’s alright… I-I have to go anyway. We shouldn’t have done anything to begin with.” Chanyeol’s words were like a sword, sharp and hurtful. He went over to grab his shirt and the last thing Baekhyun heard was the closing of the door.

Baekhyun spent that night hating himself even more for trying to act normal, when he knew that it wasn’t ever going to be a reality. He was born for desolate, it was his fate. Like his mother and his aunt, he was going to die alone. There was no point in suppressing the unavoidable truth.

* * *

The green field was toppled with heavy feet that ran back and forth in a game of never ending catch, although that was a rudimentary way to describe traditional football. Chanyeol pushed his limits as per usual and ended training in a sweaty, out of breath mess. He was captain, so working his hardest was a must. If someone had to inspire the rest of the team then it was him.

In the locker-room as they boys were changing and showering, one of Chanyeol’s teammates had thrown an arm around his shoulders. “So, how is it going with that Byun kid? Are you holding up your side of the dare?”

Rolling his eyes, Chanyeol shook the tan man’s hand away and continued to fluff his hair with the towel. “It’s honestly the stupidest dare that you could have ever come up with, Jongin.”

The other man raised his brows, amused. “Oh, really? Did he reject you or something?” Chanyeol stayed quiet, but the vexed expression gave him away. “Holy shit, someone actually rejected you? Well damn.”

“He didn’t exactly reject me. We went out on a date, but…” He trailed off, the next part being something that he was conflicted about himself.

“But what?”

Chanyeol sighed and threw his towel onto the perspiring bench. “Nothing.”

Jongin wasn’t going to have it, though, so he punched him on his arm in an effort to get him to talk. “No, no, no, you have to tell me. I was the one who dared you to ask him out, so I have to know these things. Plus, it’s pretty entertaining.”

Thinning his lips, Chanyeol crossed his arms over his bare chest. “We started to kiss then one thing led to another and we almost--”

“--You got into his pants! Holy mother of god--”

“--Almost. He stopped me and said that he couldn’t do it.”

Jongin was utterly stupefied. He blinked and his mouth opened to say something, but only laughter escaped. “Ah shit, I wasn’t expecting that! I thought you were going to score for a second there.”

Chanyeol looked the other way and scratched the surface of his palm. So did he, and the fact that he was disappointed because he didn’t took him by surprise. Why had he felt that way when it all was supposed to mean completely nothing? It was just one date, one in which was practically a joke in the first place, so how could it have affected him so much?

“Don’t worry, you only have a month with him and then you can show him that you didn’t want him in the first place.” Jongin brushed it off, unconcerned and casual about the whole ordeal. It wasn’t the first time they had done this sort of thing so he was used to it. Daring each other to date other people was basically a tradition, considering how often it happened. It was just this time in particular that felt different.

He tried not to think about it and took Jongin’s words in-- only a few weeks to go, and then he will be rid of these strange emotions.

Later that day, as he was walking back home he crossed paths with a bunch of street thugs. He never intended to have any business with these types of people, but his situation didn’t make that possible.

“Ah, Chanyeol. Have you been hiding from us? We’ve looked everywhere for you.” The man was bald and had dark circles under his eyes. Seungho, they called him. Chanyeol tried to stand his ground against them, even though he knew he was in no place to do so. “Where’s our money, punk? You said you would get it by the twenty third.”

“And that’s in two weeks. I’ll have it by then.” He held on tightly to the strap of his bag as Seungho and his other men began to circle around him.

“Alright, we just have to give you an early episode of what’ll happen if you fail to uphold that promise.” He spoke venomously as they all got closer and closer until multiple fists collided with his bones and broke him down to the ground, where they kicked him in all the areas that should not be kicked. He didn’t even bother to fight back, these people were bloodsuckers. Raising a hand would mean more beatings, more threats, and more burdens.

He limped back to his dark home after that, where Hyunsik, his father, was sprawled out on the couch with yet another bottle of alcohol in hand and six or so others surrounding his unconscious body. He sighed and didn’t bother to wake him, because when he did, Hyunsik would only choke on more poison and go on an endless rant of why he hates his whole existence.

Chanyeol went into the kitchen and opened the fridge, only to find expired yogurt and milk occupying the empty shelves. He wove a hand through his hair and looked over at the deadbeat on the couch exasperatedly. Tired eyes then caught a glimpse of a piece of paper on the counter, so he walked over and took it into his hands.

It was his mother’s medical bills, which reminded him that they owed $200 this month, plus their usual $630 rent, and not to mention those torturous loan sharks. Chanyeol dug his elbows onto the counter and held his temples with his fingers, veins thumping against hard skin. What would he do in such a situation? He knew he should keep his grades up and work towards those big name scholarships, but by this rate he won’t have a life to even attend college.

He huffed out a wad of hot air as his stomach growled. Dinner was never something he had prepared as other kids did, therefore he made use of the convenience store nearby. He bought some cup-soup and waited outside for the noodles to soak up the noodles.

When they were ready he ate them with haste, burning his tongue in the process.

As he shoveled them down, a figure shadowed over him him and caused him to look over. “Baekhyun?” He swallowed without even chewing, not expecting to see him there or anywhere around this area.

“Oh, it really is you… I thought I was mistaken for a moment.” He was soft-spoken and gentle, even through his tone.

“What are you doing here?” Chanyeol looked at the small bag in his hand and recognized it as one of the prescription bags that he would get from the pharmacy for his mother. His eyebrows met at the top of his forehead, and Baekhyun may have noticed since he hid the bag slowly behind his back.

Baekhyun seemed to have gotten a better look at him, for his expression changed entirely from awkwardly nervous, to alarmingly concerned. “Oh my god what happened to your face?” He sat beside him and cupped his cheeks automatically, analyzing the cut on his lip and the wounds around the rest of his face.

Chanyeol didn’t say anything and just watched as his orbs darted from one scratch to the other, fret having exploded all over his face. Something rumbled within the depths of his chest-- it was that same feeling he had when Baekhyun touched him on their ‘first date.’ The warmth, tenderness, and delicacy. It was too good, too good to be good for him.

“Why didn’t you get anything to heal it?” He moved away and stood up, “I’ll go get some bandages.” Chanyeol was going to protest, but Baekhyun had beat him as he quickly went into the convenience store. Chanyeol internally cursed-- what in the world was wrong with him? Baekhyun showed up for a few seconds and he couldn’t even think straight. What was up with that?

When he came back he had some sort of bottle, a couple of napkins, and a pack of bandages. He dabbed the cuts on Chanyeol’s cheeks and then moved down to the tear on the corner of his rotund lips. He uncapped the bottle and a translucent cream oozed out, which he used to smear on the cuts. “This may sting,” Baekhyun warned before he grazed the wounds.

Chanyeol winced as he made contact, which caused Baekhyun to pull his lips back apologetically. “Sorry.”

While Baekhyun was stroking his skin, their irises inevitably locked. They looked at each other with two opposing miens-- Baekhyun with care and kindness and Chanyeol with queries and uncertainty.

He had turned his head away from Baekhyun’s touch when he began to get lost in the maple globes, which caused the smaller man to place his arms by his sides dejectedly. “You should go, it’s getting darker.” Chanyeol added onto his barbed actions, piercing Baekhyun deep where bones surrounded muscle.

Licking his lips and bowing his head to hide his teary eyes, Baekhyun circled his fingers around his wrist and began to back away. “A-Alright… um, I guess I’ll… see you later.” He rasped out and gradually left the site, leaving Chanyeol feeling like he had committed a sin.

He shook his head out of it, though, and stood up to make his own departure. Tossing out the ramen, he threw his hood on and headed back. His appetite had vanished with the growing emptiness that developed in his chest.

#baekyeol #baekyeol fanfic #baekyeol angst #baekhyun #chanyeol #chanbaek #chanbaek fic #chanbaek fanfic #baekyeol fic #kpop #exo fanfiction #kpop fanfiction #fanfiction #fanfic #kpop angst #exo angst #angst #otp

[thecrazydragonlady]

“Shall We Dance?” Chapter 13

Author’s Notes: I'm going to say that I don't write kissing scenes often (I've only kissed one guy in my life guys. I don't have much to go off of unfortunately.) for various reasons but uh... well, I hope this is up to standards. I'm going to put on here that I'm handing the title of driving force for extended kissing scene to miraculous_riley on AO3. For those who haven't seen it, go read the comment left on chapter 12 there. You'll understand. Enjoy!

Chapter 13

The kiss started out innocently enough.

Her lips were warm and yielding under his. The mere thought of her was enough to make him drunk but now, holding her close, running a gloved paw into her hair, and kissing her like there was no tomorrow, made him elated. The best part was that she returned it. Every piece of passion he poured into her was returned just as strongly. Ladybug reached up and cupped his face, opening her mouth just enough to warrant exploration by him. Their tongues danced. Each breath mingled in the nearly invisible space between them. He pulled her closer, if that was even possible, running his hands down her neck, shoulders, stopping short of her hips.

She responded almost immediately. As he gripped her hips, she pushed herself forward, thinking that there had to be a way to get even closer than they already were, moving her hands back to behind his head. She laced her fingers in the shaggy mess he called hair. She tugged enough to crush his lips against hers. He squeezed her hips a bit, a soft groan escaping his throat. Plagg’s never going to let me hear the end of this later but it’s worth it. She lightly nipped his bottom lip. Oh so worth it. He moved his hands again, this time to her face, to cup her softly.

For what felt like eternity they stayed that way, feeling and kissing, until finally, they pulled apart to breathe.

Properly.

Chat panted. His glowing eyes explored her, taking in the sight of her being close to him. Her face was flush and lips swollen from the aggressive ending and she didn’t drop her hands. She smiled up at him, “Wow. I didn’t know you could kiss so well.” He chuckled.

“Same to you Marinette,” he whispered. She stroked his cheek before dropping her arms to pull him into a tight embrace instead. Her face rested oh so neatly into his neck where she softly placed a final kiss. His heart soared. He hugged her close and took a steadying breath, having to rationalize that de-transforming to ravish her appropriately on the Eiffel Tower was not a smart idea by any stretch of the imagination. After a few more minutes of that, she looked back up at him.

“We have a problem though.”

“Problem? I don’t see a problem,” he purred. She eyed him but then rolled them.

“Of course not at this moment. Not what I meant. We have another problem though since I don’t know who you are.” Chat nuzzled her head.

“That can be solved very quickly. Plagg….” Ladybug jerked and used both of her hands to cover his mouth. He blinked. It worked though and the final words to call of his transformation were halted in their tracks. She sighed wistfully and poked his nose after removing her hands, which he wiggled in response, causing her to giggle.

“Not so fast kitty. I want to do this on my own. It’s not fair you figured out who I was and I get the easy way out.”

“But….”

“No way. Don’t even think about it.”

“As you wish my lady.” He pulled a hand up to his lips, giving it a gentle kiss. He smirked up at her. “What would you like me to do then?”

“Not a thing.” She pulled her hand back but gave his bell a flick in the process. “I’m going to do this my way. I promise. I’ll figure it out. I will know who you are and no matter who’s under that mask, I am going to love you unconditionally.” She reached for her yo-yo. “But for now, let’s go home. It’s getting late.” He grabbed her wrist, causing her to turn, and to expose herself for the briefest of seconds for another kiss. She flamed. Chat shot her a cocky grin.

“That was a good-night kiss. Sleep well princess.” He saluted her with two fingers before falling back off the beam and taking off into the night. She watched but gathered herself again to take off in the opposite direction. Her heart pounded more than normal.

Landing in her room on the final beep, Marinette was bathed in a warm red light. She bit her lip, landed on her bed, clutched at the nearest pillow, and squealed really loudly into it. Tikki floated above her. She was smiling brightly at the young hero.

“Can you believe this Tikki? It’s fixed! Chat doesn’t hate me!”

“That’s wonderful Marinette,” she complimented, floating to the desktop to grab one of her cookies. “But you need to figure out who he is first.” She pulled her face away from the pillow. Clutching it at her chest, she rolled over to look at the ceiling. That was a good question. How was she going to do this? Chat had used the dancing but it seemed like he had enough experience to tell two people apart. She had to concentrate too much to rely on that. “If it helps any, you only have two people to focus on.”

And you’re probably strong enough now to break the spell the little fairy thought but didn’t say. She only hoped the push was enough to break the wall that surrounded her chosen’s mind.

That was true. On her list of people were only two: Nathaniel and Adrien. Both had danced with her for the first time last week and then the next day, one of them had danced with her a second time and used that to figure out who she was. She blinked.

Wait.

Nathaniel had danced with her during the first class for lessons.

Lessons.

Chat knew how to dance.

He wouldn’t have needed lessons.

Oh. My. God.

How oblivious was she?

Marinette shot up in her bed, now clutching the pillow even tighter, face glowing red from the top of her head all the way down to her shoulders at the realization. She stared up at her, “Figured it out?”

“If-if you mean who Chat is, then yes,” she breathed. Tikki blinked and then laughed. Marinette shook her head. “Why does it feel like my head’s clearer?”

“The magic.” Tikki flew up and landed on her knees. She crossed her legs. “The Miraculous are embedded with some powerful magic and part of it is the ability to protect its chosen. Part of that protection is a veil of sorts. It’s a glamour. Anyone who tries to think about the identity of the heroes will often find themselves thinking about something else or just be unable to put their finger on it. Unfortunately, the magic required that even the heroes themselves were subject to it.

“Now in some cases, the spell can be broken. The easiest way to do it is to both willingly agree to share your identities. Other times, it takes the right set of circumstances to break through it. You and Chat Noir are embedded with the same base magic because of Plagg and me, so, while it took you a little longer than it should have to figure out who each other was, it wasn’t completely impossible. That, on top of your love made the spell even weaker.”

“But if the magic was meant to protect us, why was it so easily broken?”

Tikki giggled and flew up to hover in front of the young girl’s face. “The origin magic meant for this to happen. The earrings of creation and the ring of destruction are a balance for each other and the magic wanted the two holders to be as in-tune as possible. Part of that is knowing that you two need to know each other. Completely. Without questions.” She smiled sadly as she continued with, “But this world isn’t a friendly place and so the safeguard, the glamour, was put there in case one of the miraculouses landed in the wrong hands.”

“Like Hawkmoth’s?”

“Yes.” Tikki sighed. “Poor Nooroo. He just doesn’t have the best luck.”

“We’ll get him back soon. I promise.” Tikki nodded and placed a gentle kiss on her forehead.

“I know. I trust you.” Mari smiled and slid off her bed, pulling her pigtails out. She changed into her pajamas before climbing back and snuggling down into the covers. Tikki flew up to her pillow.

“Monday’s going to be awesome,” she yawned. “I can’t wait to see Chat’s… Adrien’s... expression when I tell him I know.”

“Yeah. It’ll be great.” Tikki patted the young girl’s head gently as she slipped off to sleep, before flying over to turn the light off. For the first time in years, her tiny little heart fluttered excitedly for the morning.

... That chapter was a mess of crap and I know. I'm so sorry but despite the lack of excitement in the realization how I promise scheming Mari in the upcoming chapters? Believe me, she's not happy about it be lack luster either.

As always, likes, re-blogs, and constructive criticisms are more than welcomed. My inbox is always open!

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#mlfanfiction #shall we dance? #thedragonwrites #I'm sorry #the reveal is lack luster #but Mari's going to make it better #She already told me #Chapter 14 is going to be wild #Adrien's screwed #I salute cat son goodbye