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mochegato · 1 year

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Roadside Inspiration

“Eyes on the road!” Adrien’s voice boomed throughout the car; voice distorted through the car speakers.

Marinette squeaked, eyes snapping back to the road as the car swerved slightly, which on the backroad she was on, was particularly dangerous. The roads were narrow with no shoulders. There was barely enough room for two cars and no room for error. “Don’t do that!” she screeched back, one hand flying to her chest to calm her now racing heart. “And I am keeping my eyes on the road. I know how to drive a car, Adrien!” she growled, fully ignoring the fact that at the time, her eyes were not, in fact, on the road.

“You’re seriously going to tell me you aren’t allowing yourself to get distracted looking for the perfect view in all the lavender?” he scoffed.

Marinette opened her mouth and snapped it shut. “Yes,” she answered resolutely, with a curt nod to emphasize the point despite knowing full well that he couldn’t see it.

Adrien snorted at the baldfaced lie. “Sure, Maribug. We’re just leaving Marseilles now. How far from the venue are you?”

“Prat,” she grumbled. She may get easily distracted and she may not be used to driving a car, it wasn’t like she had many opportunities in Paris, but she was an excellent scooter driver and really, how different was it? And she was keeping her eyes on the road! It was just the occasional glance to the side to look at the stretching fields of lavender. It was a positive thing really. They encourage you to be aware of your surroundings when you drive!

And if she happened to look off to the side more than normal… she was looking for inspiration damnit! The entire point of driving out ahead of everyone else was so she could take her time and stop frequently to take pictures of the lavender, looking for the perfect inspiration. A perfect, glorious view that would spark some interest and get her heart pumping and her mind racing with possibilities. She was on a deadline. Her client wanted her sketches in two weeks.

She looked to the side and grabbed her phone, switching to camera mode with one swipe. The sun was catching the rows of lavender, highlighting the pattern of the furrows, creating a captivating pattern. She swerved slightly again and quickly corrected with an inaudible groan. Maybe Adrien was onto something. She really should stop when she wanted to take pictures.

“Depends on how many more times I stop. Probably about…” she trailed off as her eyes caught on something entirely different than the lavender that had previously distracted her, “… half an hour,” she finished absently as the form of a man leaning up against a car with the hood up, took shape. She slowed down as she eased closer and almost dropped her phone when the man turned away from his engine to investigate the noise.

Her brain froze for a minute and her breath left her lungs. He was tall and broad in a shirt tight enough to know he kept himself very fit. He looked like he could take care of himself, but even without being close enough to see the color of his eyes, she could see a softness. His sharp facial features were softened by his rugged beard, that made her start to wonder how it would feel to run her hands through…

“Got distracted again, didn’t you,” Adrien chuckled.

“Yeah,” she answered absently, her eyes still on the incredibly sexy man in front of her as she pulled to a stop and turned off the engine. “I’m going to let you go.” She hung up the phone without waiting for his response.

The man straightened up with a sheepish smile that Marinette returned with false ease. “Besoin d'aide?” she asked as she stepped around her car and took a cursory look over his engine, not that it would do much for her. She knew a bit about engines, but almost exclusively motorcycle engines. Her nana had made sure if her scooter broke down, she’d have an idea of what was wrong and how to fix it. But cars? Unless it was out of gas, she was useless.

He stared at her wide eyed before shaking himself out of it. French. She was speaking French to him, which granted, yeah, he should have expected, but she was beautiful, and he was having a hard enough time thinking without adding a language he hadn’t spoken for about six years before this week into the mix. “Uhhh… No. Non... Well… yes… oui. Maybe. Mais non.” He looked back at his engine accusingly before returning his eyes to her helplessly. “Qui un moi appelle pour obtenir un petite aide?”

"Oh! You're American!” She chuckled lightly at his accent and attempt at French. It was pretty bad, but he was trying and it was sweet. And his looks definitely made his attempt seem even sweeter. “Hi.” She looked down slightly mortified to find her hand giving a small wave, as if it had decided to commit the act against her will, and immediately dropped it.

“Hi,” he responded immediately, with the same awkward wave. He stared in her eyes for a few moments, a broad smile on his lips, before a loud bird call brought him back to the situation and he looked away embarrassed. “Thank God you speak English. It’s been a while since I had to speak French. It’s kind of embarrassing how much I’ve let it go. But I don’t suppose you have a tow hook on that car of yours.”

It took her a few moments later to realize he’d started talking again, looking away from his eyes was a challenge. Green eyes. He had green eyes. Worse than that, warm, kind, green eyes, her favorite kind. She was in so much trouble. She scrambled to review what he’d just said. Something about a tow…

“Oh, right,” she looked down, her cheeks coloring as she did. “Help, um… No, no tow hook. Honestly don’t think my car would be able to handle it anyway. But I can look up the number for a tow truck and they can tow you to a mechanic. I can translate if you need. But honestly, your English was really good for not having used it in a few years,” she lied encouragingly. She typed on her phone for a few seconds before looking up with a bright smile. “Done. My friend will have a tow truck come to these coordinates.”

His eyes widened and he blinked a few times before he found his voice again. “That was quick! I… Thank you. I really appreciate it.”

“Of course! I’m glad I was able to help,” she chirped. She looked at him for a few seconds, scouring her mind for something else to say. It should not be this difficult to talk to a handsome man. She was best friends with a former model for Christ’s sake! Not able to find anything she looked back to the engine and down the road as if the tow truck could have magically appeared in the past few seconds. “I can’t say how quickly they’ll respond though. I have no idea about response times around here.”

“That’s okay,” he assured her with a grateful smile. “There are far worse places to have broken down and definitely far worse situations than to be rescued by a beautiful woman.”

Her eyes snapped back to him, her cheeks immediately flushing. She was almost afraid to meet his eyes, fearing a leering look, but instead she was met with an earnest, rather shy gaze. “Oh, um… thank you.” She looked away quickly before her blush could extend any further down her body and immediately got distracted.

She hadn’t noticed when she first stopped, too distracted by the absolutely stunning man in front of her, but it really was a perfect view. The lavender fields stretched out for miles in front of them, providing a sea of rich purple waving just slightly in the light breeze. But it was the sky that perfected the view. The sky wasn’t clear, which made it all the better. Clouds stretched out from the horizon. The sunset set the clouds aflame in a brilliant display of deep golds and bronzes until it darkened to a purple that seemed to reflect the lavender fields beneath. It was everything she had been hoping to get pictures of for inspiration for her project.

“You’re right about the view. I don’t know if you could get a better view. It’s like you somehow happened upon the most perfect sight in France. The clouds are gorgeous, and the lighting is perfect,” she trailed off at the end.

He watched her as she moved in a fog across the road and through the embankment to the fields, phone out and clicking as she took pictures. “Yeah, it’s… it’s uh…” He lost his train of thought as he noticed the light wash over her, the setting sun casting its last rays to bathe her face in warm hues. “… perfect,” he finished breathlessly. He shook his head as she moved too far ahead for him to see her face and followed her into the field.

He didn’t mind watching her from behind, but he’d much prefer to see her face. “Yeah, I’m pretty lucky,” he agreed quietly, his eyes never leaving her. The calm breeze was rustling the lavender just enough to make its presence known and blow the occasional strands of hair into her face. His fingers itched to brush them away for her. He was almost lulled into a peaceful daze by the breeze and the birds welcoming the evening with their sedated calls until a harsh noise broke the reverie.

Marinette jerked wildly, almost dropping her phone again when the ringing broke through the quiet. She glanced down at the screen and rolled her eyes, instantly silencing it and returning to her pictures. “This really is incredible,” she noted, not even really speaking to the man anymore. “So inspiring. This might be exactly what I’ve been looking for.”

“Yeah, I think you’re right,” he agreed as he watched her, not even really sure what he was agreeing to. “Are you a photographer?” he asked after a few moments.

“Designer,” she answered distractedly. Her eyes never left the scene in front of her.

The smile on his face grew as he watched her crouch and contort herself into the most awkward positions to get pictures. “I’m Will,” he called out.

“Marinette,” she offered without looking away.

He chuckled at the tone. She was completely enthralled. It was entirely possible he could leave and she wouldn’t notice. In fact, he was pretty positive that was the case, which would not do at all. He opened his mouth to ask her another question but was interrupted by another call.

Marinette blinked and looked at her phone again for just a second before groaning. “Oh, what the… annoying, hovering git,” she grumbled before silencing it again and taking a few more pictures from different angles.

Will raised an eyebrow at her. “Do you need to get that?”

“No,” she waved him off but cringed almost immediately, bobbing her head to the side. Her eyes slid to him for a moment and back to the view in front of her. “Well, eventually. If I don’t answer he’s going to break all sorts of laws to get here to save me.”

A sinking feeling hit Will. He should have realized a woman like her wouldn’t be single. Of course she had someone. Probably a fucking model or doctor or something. “Boyfriend?” he asked casually, dreading the answer.

“No, just a friend, though granted he is a boy. He was already nervous because I was driving by myself, and I don’t drive… not a car anyway, and I took the long way so I could see the fields. He’s with the person I asked to call the tow truck, so now he’s panicked because clearly you must be faking it, you know, lying about being broken down for some nefarious reason.” She leaned in as she said it like it was an inside joke.

Will chuckled tightly; his lips pulled into a tight smile that he hoped didn’t look too much like a grimace. While this instance was absolutely real, it was a trick he’d pulled before for a mission. “No, no nefarious plot to draw in stunning women, just a broken-down car.”

She managed to eke out a non-committal hum before looking down, suddenly finding the lavender near her feet fascinating as a shy smile tugged at the corners of her lips. “Fortunate for me, unfortunate for you.”

Will grinned brightly. “I’m starting to think maybe it wasn’t so unfortunate after all.”

Her cheeks blazed dark enough that it couldn’t be passed off as an effect of the lighting. She brushed a strand of hair behind her ear both to keep it from blowing in her eyes again and to hide her face while she blushed. “So..” her mouth hung open as her phone interrupted her again. “Oh my G…” she froze again mid-word. “Oh! It should be all good now though.”

He blinked at her, unsure what that meant. He searched the road for a sign of the tow truck in case that’s what she meant. But the area was just as desolate as it had been since he broke down. “Okay…?”

“That was our other friend, the one that called the tow truck, saying you’re safe.” She gave him a brilliant smile that put the scenery to shame in its beauty. “That should get Adrien to stand down before he goes on an overprotective war path and violates every possible traffic law to get here.”

“I’m safe?” he repeated uncertainly. “I mean,” he added quickly, “I am, but…”

“I sent him a picture of you and your license plate when I sent my coordinates,” she cut in, her smile never fading. “He ran a ch…”

“You sent him my picture and license?” he asked surprised.

She gave him a flat look. “Well yeah,” she scoffed like it was the most ridiculous question she’d ever heard. She pointed to herself. “Woman.” She waved around vaguely. “In the middle of nowhere. With no witnesses. At night. You may be hot, but I’m not stupid.” She paled almost instantly; her eyes widened for a moment before clamping closed as she dropped her head into her hands. “Maybe I am.”

He couldn’t stop the grin that spread on his lips. His chest puffed out and he crossed his arms casually, making sure to plant his fists under his biceps to accentuate them. He’d let her know he thought she was stunning twice, not that he was counting, but this was the first time she’d indicated that she reciprocated, and he definitely wanted to encourage that. “That was really smart. I’m impressed. Most people wouldn’t have thought to do that. So, I take it I passed?”

“More than passed,” she nodded. Her eyes caught on his arms for a moment before she met his eyes. Her cheeks flushed again at having been caught, but she narrowed her eyes at his smug smirk. “You must have really impressed him, otherwise you would have gotten a ‘seems okay, so far’. But you got a ‘he’s safe’. You have to be a superhero or be a veterinarian or just save kittens in your spare time or something.”

It was only the years of training that stopped him from reacting to the statement. He smiled, much more natural, despite being forced, than his smile after the nefarious comment, but it was close. “I’ve saved a cat or two and quite a few birds,” he huffed out a single laugh at his own joke. “But I run a security company. That must be what he found.”

Marinette scoffed. “Unlikely. No offense but running a company doesn’t mean anything. If anything, we’ve learned not to trust anyone who runs their own company.”

“What’s wrong with owning your own company?” he asked uncertainly. She snickered at his indignation. “No, really. I’m very secure,” he assured her hastily. Her smile brightened even further until her eyes were crinkling at the edges.

He pursed his lips at her obvious amusement at his expense. “I mean, I’m very good at my job,” he rephrased more cheekily. He shot her a charming smile and took a step closer so he was towering over her but not invading her space. “And my job is safety. I make sure the things under my care are safe.”

She studied him for a moment appraisingly, her grin turning playful. “I’m sure you do,” she agreed placatingly. She kept studying him for another moment, letting him study her in return, before nodding toward the car. “Come on,” she prompted softly, “it’s getting dark. We should probably get back to the cars.”

He blinked a few times before her words registered. “Oh right. After you.” He motioned to the path in front of them.

Marinette snorted. “Or together,” she offered instead. “There’s enough room for both of us.”

He chuckled. His grin broad and boyish after her suggestion. “Together,” he nodded. “Together’s better.” He just barely restrained himself before his hand met with the small of her back. He pulled his hand back and shoved it into his pocket.

“So, what brings you here?” she asked after a few silent steps.

“To France or…” he motioned around them.

“Either,” she shrugged. She turned to face him without slowing down, walking backward so she could look him in the eyes while they spoke. “Both.”

He met her eyes, relishing the way the last strains of the sun reflected in them, but constantly keeping the ground behind her in his peripheral vision in case any obstacles appeared. “I came for a big security conference. A bunch of experts in the field talking about new security measures and new hacking threats.”

“Oh! The one in Marseilles?” she perked up instantly, almost tripping over a small rise in the dirt. His hands darted out to her forearms in an instant to steady her, but she fell a bit too fast and almost faceplanted into his chest. She looked up into his eyes, so close, she could feel the heat radiating from his body, but it was how his hands felt on her arms and the look in his eyes that was overwhelming her brain, making it impossible to think of anything else. Safety. He was right. He really was good at it.

She finally took a step back and cleared her throat lightly. “Sorry. You wouldn’t believe how clumsy I am.”

He shoved his hands in his pockets again. “It’s okay. I didn’t mind. Guess you were right, I am a hero.” She snorted but it had the effect he was going for; she grinned and shook her head as she started walking forward again. “But, yeah, Marseilles. How did you know?” he prompted again.

“My friend, the friend who looked you up, spoke about ways to use AI to protect and insulate data from hackers. He was really excited about it,” she answered, the tone of pride could not be missed.

Will paled instantly but plastered on a slightly less convincing smile. Max Kante. Max Kante gave that talk. He knew because Will was only in France in the first place because of Max Kante. Bruce paid for Will to attend the conference in France because, as the owner of a security company, he would seem the least suspicious. A perfect cover to observe a potential new asset for the Justice League. A new asset that had the capability to uncover Will’s past affiliations.

He studied Marinette closely from the corner of his eye, looking for any indication that her previous comment was better informed than he had thought it was at the time, but she continued walking with ease, her body relaxed, and her expression content rather than the knowing glint he would have expected. She was either an amazingly talented actress, or she had no idea. No. If Will had to put his money on it, he’d wager it was just a very lucky guess.

They walked next to each other, sometimes swaying close enough to brush against one another for a few steps and gazing at the other shyly. “You’re pretty far from Marseilles,” she noted when they got to the cars.

“Yeah… I’m aware. Very far from my hotel,” he sighed.

Marinette could barely drag her eyes from his figure. He was leaning back against the side of the car, hands still shoved into his pockets, legs stretched out, and ankles crossed casually. She swallowed thickly. “What… um… what brought you way out here?"

He chuckled and nodded to the field in front of them. “The lavender. I wanted to get some pictures. Same as you, apparently.”

“That’s a long way to travel for some pictures,” she noted, propping herself up on the edge of the car’s trunk.

He chuckled. “It’s really not. Not for an American. Driving 6 hours, now that’s a long way. One hour? That’s a commute to work.”

She stared at him, eyes wide, trying to ascertain if he was joking or not. “That’s crazy,” she declared upon deciding he was not.

“I don’t disagree,” he chuckled.

She continued to stare at him for a few seconds before shaking her head. “Americans.”

He shrugged but looked up to meet her eyes through his lashes, almost cautiously. “I promised my daughter I’d check them out.”

She sat up straight. “You have a daughter?” she asked. Contrary to the disinterest he’d feared, she seemed excited about the news, interested to find out more. He grinned wildly and pulled out his phone.

“Yeah. Lian. Here.” He turned his phone to show her the lock screen; a shot of him twirling Lian around, both laughing brightly.

“Awww. She’s adorable,” she gushed.

“Thanks. Yeah, she is. She was really upset she couldn’t come with me.” A sappy smile appeared as he spoke about his daughter.

“I’m with her,” she nodded resolutely with mock derision. “I would have been upset too. Going out to see such beautiful sights without her. Terrible thing to do to a girl.”

“Hey! It’s her fault I’m here,” he objected with a chuckle. He leaned in closer like he was passing on a secret. “I would have happily stayed in my hotel for my stay, focused on making some connections. She decided to help by searching for what I could see while I was in France. Luckily, I got to her before she saw anything more than these fields. There are far worse things she could have seen while searching for ‘pretty things for a daddy to see in France’.”

“Oh no! She didn’t!” she gasped, horrified at the possibilities.

“Oh, she did. I had to have a long discussion with her grandfather about child safety settings and the internet.” He chuckled and leaned back against the car, but still closer than he had been before. “She’s with her grandfather while I’m here. Probably running circles around him and getting spoiled absolutely rotten while watching wildly inappropriate videos on YouTube.”

Marinette’s eyes softened. “Grandparents are good for that. She sounds like a handful.”

“She absolutely is,” he agreed. He took one last, wistful look at his phone before tucking it into his pocket. “How about you?”

She blinked, then blinked again. Nope, that was still what he asked. “Excuse me?”

His eyes widened in realization. “What brings you here!” he clarified hastily. “It’s a long way to travel for some pictures,” he repeated back to her.

“Oh.” She chuckled, blood rushing to her cheeks again. She ducked her head, letting her hair curtain around her face until her cheeks could return to their normal color and she nodded up the road. “My friend is getting married nearby in a few days.”

He leaned closer and ducked his head to catch her eye. “The annoying one?” he teased.

She snorted. “Yes, but in a different way. No. Not the one I mentioned before. He’s also in the wedding though, as is my counter-hacker.” She furrowed her brow and pulled out her phone to check the time. “Speaking of… I have to get to the hotel for the final fittings soon. I can wait with you for a bit longer or…” she bit her lip anxiously as she looked down the road, drawing Will’s attention straight to her lips, “I can’t give you a ride to Marseilles, but I can give you a ride to the next town over or the hotel we’re staying at. You can find a ride back from there.”

Will made a show of looking at his watch discreetly. “It will probably take the tow truck a while to get here and it is getting pretty dark. And if I can get someone to provide the part, I can fix the car myself tomorrow. I don’t have anywhere I need to be tonight, though I am getting hungry. I wouldn’t mind a ride, if you don’t mind and if your counter-hacker can ask them to tow it to wherever you take me.”

Marinette grinned. “I can do that. As for food, there’s a place close to the hotel that we found when we scouted the hotel. It’s not fancy, but I liked it. They’ve got a great Flaugnarde. I have to do the fittings, but it shouldn’t take me too long. I can show you the restaurant.”

“That sounds perfect,” he assured her as he followed her to her car. “I can get a room and check in with my daughter while you’re doing the fittings. Then we can get a floo… thing. It’s my favorite.”

She chuckled at him, amusement pulling her lips up at the corners. “You’ve never had one, have you?”

“No, no I have not,” he admitted, his eyes twinkling with mischief, “but I’m dying to try it. How about I buy you one as a thank you?”

She grinned. “Throw in a glass of wine and you have yourself a deal.”

“How about wine, a fla… thing…, and dessert. Unless it’s a dessert in which case, I’ll throw in the meal. Or if it’s a drink I’ll throw in the meal, dessert, and it.”

She chuckled and looked away shyly, her cheeks blazing even more than before as she pulled her lower lip between her teeth. “Flaugnarde,” she said quietly. She looked back up at him with a shy smile. “It’s a dessert and that sounds…” she trailed off when she saw him. The last bastions of the sun flared behind him, setting off his red hair like flames and making him seem like a modern day Hou Yi after shooting down the ninth sun. Her heart thundered in her chest as her mind started racing with possibilities. “…perfect,” she finished breathlessly.

“Do you need any more pictures for your inspiration?” he asked before opening the door. “Or should we go?”

“No,” she smiled at him as she slid into the car, “I think I’ve finally found mine.”

*The lavender scene is inspired by this image: https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/lavender-fields-france-provence-1440137069

*Will Harper is Roy Harper’s clone and Lian’s father in Young Justice

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