#and here i am. angrily sipping my tea which has since gone cold. i need to bite something

[spooky-z]

IN THE DARK

This story contains: sexual harassment, attempted rape, panic attacks and language. Proceed with caution.

Important info: in this au, Hawkmoth was defeated and Gabriel was never Hawkmoth (nor Natalie-Mayura), but don't worry, he will have karma in his ass.

I didn't tag anyone again, because of the possible triggers.

I wrote this story listening in the dark by bmth in the replay.

You will find things wrong about the law and things like that, but I'm not a lawyer or a police officer so ignore it. This is only a fanfiction.

9.05K

Maribat by @ozmav

Adrien felt numb.

He knew that his heart was beating normally, his lungs working as usual, but the sensation of being suspended... The extra-corporeal sensation he was experiencing, caused these two facts to be left in the back of his conscience.

There was something.

There was someone.

Someone was talking to him.

But Adrien-

"He's having a panic attack!"

Adrien was choking. The air entering his lungs made his chest hurt, his eyes were open - he knew - but he could see nothing but shapes; the wet on his cheek said that he had cried, that he was crying.

His body was freezing, the taste mixed with blood and bile in his mouth made him sick, the sounds seemed distant and the smell-

The smell of her perfume.

Was too much-

Too much-

Someone was touching.

Someone was touching him.

And-

It was like he was still there.

As if she were there.

Adrien-

...

▫▪▪

"Shit." Marinette sighed. "He passed out."

"Sorry!" Chloe was crying heavily in Kagami's arms. “I'm sorry, Mari! I did not know-"

"It's all right, Chlo." Kagami rubbed the blonde's back. "You were just trying to help."

"But-"

"Chloe, it's okay." Marinette said, trying to put Adrien on the sofa. “We are going to let him rest. I need to clean up this mess.”

The mess being the vomit spread on the wooden floor, the lamp shattered on the table, apart from the torn tablecloth.

Adrien, trying to stop himself from falling or, trying to find something to act as an anchor, had pulled the tablecloth tightly, tearing the embroidered details from the hem. And when he hit the ground, he slammed against the table with the lamp.

This was all because Chloe had touched Lila's name.

And Marinette knew at once, that Lila had crossed all lines. Even without knowing what had actually happened.

The three girls were surprised by the sound of the door opening, but soon relaxed when they saw that it was just Luka.

Luka who didn’t know what had happened and was looking at the calamitous state of Marinette's house with horror.

"... What?"

"Adrien." Kagami sighed.

"Adrien?"

"He had a panic attack." Chloe elaborated.

"What was the trigger?"

"Lila." Marinette responded with disgust.

"What the hell did she do this time?" Luka narrowed his eyes, eyes in which the pupils were a little more... sharp. Like a reptile. A snake.

"We don't know." Chloe sniffed, still shaken. "The only thing we know is that when I touched her name, he started to freak out."

"When he got here, was he acting weird?"

"A little less cheerful, but we thought it was Gabriel acting like absolute trash again." Kagami replied.

Luka approached the sofa, eyes sliding over Adrien's sleeping figure. Noticing the reddish spots under the eyes and how the hair was a little oily; which was not normal, since Gabriel did not accept Adrien less than perfect.

"Didn't Plagg say anything?"

"Plagg is hiding with Tikki on the gramophone and doesn't want to leave at all." Marinette sighed. “He barely stopped to speak to us when Adrien arrived. He just dropped the transformation and disappeared into my room. "

"So, he knows what happened and for him to be acting like that, it means it wasn't just one of Lila's lies bothering Adrien." Luka said, fingers stuck in the foam of the sofa. “And apparently it was something really serious. Serious enough to break Adrien.”

"I knew we shouldn't have left Paris without him!" Marinette growled. "If I had just-"

"Marin, please, this is not your fault." Luka said, approaching the girl. “It is not our fault. Adrien even encouraged us to make this trip.”

"He knew you missed Damian." Chloe pointed. "He wanted us to get away from Paris a little bit to celebrate our transfer."

"Even so!" The girl protested. "If I had taken Kaalki, perhaps I could have avoided what happened here."

"Hime..."

"I am afraid." Marinette murmured, tears flowing freely and Luka hugged the girl. “Afraid that Lila has broken Adrien beyond repair."

▫▪▪

The scent of chamomile tea was what woke Adrien out of a dreamless sleep.

At first, he shifted in confusion because that was not his bed. That mattress was a little harder than the mattress on his bed, besides being very narrow and the ceiling was too low to be his home.

But then he heard Marinette's voice whispering something close to him, the blond of Chloe's hair over his stomach, the distinct red of Kagami's fencing uniform and the comforting blue of Luka side by side.

"..." He moved, stretching to sit and Chloe was quick to lift her head. He noticed that her eyes were slightly red. "Good Morning?"

"Adrien!"

"Hey, Chlo."

He was at Marinette's house.

Adrien had gone to the Dupain-Cheng house after fleeing the Agreste mansion.

After running away from his father.

After running away from Lila.

His memory of the day before coming back like an avalanche.

Just like tears.

▫▪▪

"Adrien!"

Marinette, Luka and Kagami hurriedly got up from the table after hearing Chloe's voice.

"Hey, Chlo." They heard Adrien's voice, hoarse and weak, before they saw him.

The model looked the worst for wear. The deep dark circles, the hair pointing in several possible directions, oily and the vomit stains on the shirt, gave a much worse look than he had before passing out.

Marinette was distracted by the tears running down the boy's face.

"Adrien." Kagami sighed, devastated. Eyes shining with tears.

The model bent over his knees before he started to cry hysterically. With painful sobs, snot running down his nose, fingers digging into the blanket Marinette had thrown over him the night before.

Adrien's body shook with the force of sobs, his skin had turned an alarming shade of red.

"I-I-" He tried to say.

Luka was the first to approach him, cautiously so as not to overburden the blonde further. He had no escape when Adrien threw himself on him, arms tight around the musician's waist and his face buried in his chest.

Luka put his arms around Adrien's shoulders, returning the hug as tightly as he could.

Chloe sat next to Adrien on the sofa, gluing his legs over her thighs and crying silently.

Kagami approached, but preferred to sit beside Chloe, one arm on the girl's shoulders and the other hand making circular motions on the skin of Adrien's foot.

Marinette was the last to approach, sitting on the arm of the sofa next to Adrien, her hand making comforting movements on the boy's back and his blond hair.

They waited for Adrien to finish crying - Kagami having gone out once to make more chamomile tea - to give the boy a mug of tea.

When Adrien put his feet on the floor and leaned back on the sofa, giving Luka space to sit next to him, Kagami sat on the coffee table where Chloe joined her to be closer to the boy. The four around Adrien.

But it was only after he finished half the tea that Adrien started talking.

"Remember when I told you that I was going to talk to my dad about how Lila was making me uncomfortable in photoshoots and at school?" The four nodded. “Yesterday, before I left for school, I spoke to Gabriel. I told him how I was feeling about all of Lila's harassment and how I didn't want to have contact with her anymore and- “

Adrien took another sip of the tea, fingers tight on the porcelain.

“He said that I shouldn't complain. That an Agreste doesn't run away from a problem, he faces it.” He focused on the amber liquid in the mug. "That I shouldn't complain about my fiancée being sticky."

"What the fuck!?" Chloe whispered angrily. "Fiancée? Gabriel was classier than that.”

Adrien cringed at Chloe's words and the girl squeezed his knee in regret.

“I went to school; the day went by smoothly since Lila didn't show up for classes. I even got excited, even after the conversation with Gabriel. So, when I got home- “Adrien took one hand from the mug to intertwine with Luka's. Trying to anchor. “Lila was there, saying that my father had invited her for a romantic date with me, so we could get to know each other better... I ran away to my room. I-I don't know, I panicked I think.”

He shook his head, looking confused.

“I locked the door, I'm sure of it, but Lila managed to get in anyway. She saw Plagg.” He gasped; eyes wide. “I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I didn't want to-“

Marinette put her arm around the boy's shoulders, pulling him into a hug.

“Shh, it's okay, chaton. It was not your fault." She whispered against his hair.

Adrien remained with his face buried in Marinette's shoulder for a few minutes before moving away, his eyes fixed nowhere.

“L-Lila was surprised, but she understood what that meant in some way, I don't know how! So, she threatened to tell everyone if I didn't do what she wanted and I couldn't let her tell everyone about Chat Noir! I couldn’t!" Tears started to run down Adrien's face again. "So, I accepted."

"Adrien." Kagami sighed.

"I thought she would force me to fake a relationship or support her in her lies, I don't know!" Adrien's eyes became more and more glazed. “But that wasn't. That wasn't it. That wasn't it. That wasn't-” His voice trailed off; his lips trembled.

"Take a deep breath, baby." Luka stroked the model's hand, squeezing when Adrien did what he asked. "This, like this... We are here for you."

"She asked me for a kiss." He said weakly and Marinette felt her blood run cold, dreading Adrien's next words.

The other three, having the same reasoning as Marinette, had frozen.

“I didn't want to, but I did what she asked. But then...” He took a deep breath. "But then she said that a simple kiss wouldn’t be enough to keep such a big secret and that she wanted more..."

Adrien placed the mug of tea in Luka's hands, before covering his mouth tightly. Eyes fluttered, but Marinette was quicker.

She took the bucket she had left near the sofa, in case Adrien felt sick again and handed it to the boy, who violently poured all the tea with bile.

When Adrien sat back on the sofa, tired of being sick, Chloe took the bucket and set it on the floor. "Do you want some water?"

Adrien shook his head. "Not yet. I don't think I can keep something in my stomach.” He looked at the ceiling. “... I think I blacked out when she started kissing me, because all I remember after that was Plagg shouting my name and hitting my face. I was undressed, but I still had my underwear on and Lila was lying on the bed just in lingerie. I think Plagg knocked her out.”

Marinette rose from the arm of the sofa, unable to contain herself.

She had tears - like all of them - rolling down her cheeks, her fists were clenched and her nails digging hard into the skin of her hand, she had to use all her restraint to keep from catching Tikki and hunting Lila all over Paris.

Adrien didn't notice the girl's action, his eyes unfocused and still immersed in the story.

"So, I got dressed and used Chat Noir to get away." He continued. "I didn't really think about it until Chloe-" Adrien looked up. “Now I don't know what to do. I don't want to go home because my dad is going to be there and I don't want to go to school either because Lila is going to be there. I also can't stay at your house because I'm sure you will be the first suspects, but it's not like I have much of a choice, so-”

"Adrien." Luka said, barely managing to control the tone of his voice. "Don't you dare suggest going back to that house."

"You are not going back there, Adrien." Kagami stood up, hands running through her hair before she sat down at the table again. "What happened here was not something frivolous. That was very serious.”

"But-" Adrien tried to protest.

"You are not going back to that house." Marinette interrupted anything he could say. “Not if I have anything to say about it. What I have."

That's when Chloe's phone rang with a message received. Five messages in a row.

She got up to check, trying to distract her mind from everything Adrien had told them. Chloe was not coping well with the fact that Gabriel had let Adrien be abused just because he didn’t accept that his son was gay.

Of course, she didn't mention it to her four friends. But she knew that Gabriel's sudden interest in Adrien and Lila becoming more than classmates or co-workers, was linked to Adrien's announcement about being in a romantic relationship with another boy.

Gabriel had smiled and acted like the father of the year on camera, but they knew the truth, of course.

Adrien was on a call with Marinette when Gabriel broke into the boy's room demanding that Adrien retract himself. Demanding that he go to the press and say it was a mistake.

Because Gabriel would not accept his only heir to be in a relationship that, in addition to not bearing fruit - children - would be dragging the Agreste name in the mud because Luka was not someone of high society.

Luka Stone was not a fact known to everyone, only close friends and family. So, the man thought Luka was just a gold digger.

Not that it mattered to Adrien.

So, Gabriel was an old man, homophobic and traditionalist. He wanted Adrien to marry a woman, one who would give him grandchildren and was rich. Someone like Kagami Tsurugi. But Kagami had dodged that bullet by telling Tomoe that she was not interested in romantic relationships, wanting to focus all of her time on fencing.

Which was a complete lie, but it had worked.

Chloe thought Gabriel would try to negotiate Adrien's hand with Audrey, since the first option was out of the question, but he never contacted either Audrey or André about it, so she thought he had finally come to his senses.

But apparently, he felt so trapped that he sold his soul to Satan. The talk of finding someone in high society left out, focusing only on the 'woman who could give grandchildren'.

Chloe tilted her head, taking deep breaths to calm herself.

She couldn't break. Not with Adrien needing all possible support.

The phone rang two more times, the screen lit showing seven unread Sabrina messages.

Brina <3

[3:25 PM]: Dad showed up with another police officer and Mlle. Sancoeur looking for Adrien, did you see him? [3:25 PM]: Apparently, he ran away from home yesterday and nobody knows where he went [3:26 PM]: Lila is saying some very strange things... I don't know if I believe her. [3:27 PM]: She's accusing you and Marinette of kidnapping Adrien for being jealous of their relationship... But that can't be true, can it? Adrien is dating Luka! We all know that! [3:28 PM]: Chlo, I don't like what she's implying. Is Adrien okay? Did she do something to him yesterday? Is that why he ran away???? [3:29 PM]: Nino said that Adrien doesn't answer the phone and doesn't know where he might be. [3:30 PM]: If you are with Adrien now, let him know that they are going after him. They left for the Dupain-Cheng bakery.

"Mari, we have a problem!"

"What's it?"

“Gabriel pulled the strings and the police are already looking for Adrien. They are coming here.”

Adrien stood up from the sofa abruptly, his hands shaking and his face pale.

"I can't go back there." He stammered. “I know I talked about going back, but I can't. Don't make me go back there.”

Luka stood up, placing his hands on the boy's shoulders and forcing him to face him.

“Adrien, calm down. We will not send you back there.”

"What are we going to do, Marin?" Kagami asked worriedly.

"I know exactly what to do." Marinette replied, determined.

She wouldn't let Gabriel or Lila get away with it. They would pay for hurting Adrien.

▫▪▪

Chloe jumped in surprise at the sound of the doorbell ringing, but Kagami was quick to kiss the girl's hand in comfort. Trying to calm her down.

Marinette sent a look at the two of them, before getting up from the sofa and answering the door. Where M. Raincomprix, Mlle. Sancoeur and another police officer, one she didn’t recognize, looked at her critically.

“Oh! Hello M. Raincomprix! Mlle. Sancoeur and...”

“Berger. Louis Berger.” The man introduced himself.

"M. Berger.” She repeated, smiling sweetly. “What brings you here? I hope it's not for our pastry, because Mom and Dad are in London on vacation!” Marinette joked.

Sancoeur frowned in annoyance, Raincomprix looked increasingly uncomfortable and Berger was the only one who was courteous enough to smile pleasantly at her.

"Unfortunately, we're not here to-" Raincomprix started, but Sancoeur was quick to cut him off, almost pushing Marinette to the floor as she passed through the door.

"Where's Adrien?!" She snarled.

"Adrien?" Marinette murmured in confusion. "I haven't seen Adrien since last week, before I left."

"We received information that Adrien Agreste would be here." Raincomprix said, being more polite than Sancoeur when entering the house, followed by Berger.

"I don't know who could have informed you about this, but it is impossible for Adrien to be here." She answered. "I arrived from Gotham just last night."

Sancoeur grunted like a furious dog, looking like she was about to hit Marinette. Which was a surprise, since Marinette never saw the woman less than composed.

"Don't lie to us!" She spat. "I know that you are obsessed with Adrien and crazy enough to try anything!"

Marinette frowned, feeling offended. She was trying not to break the insolent woman's nose.

“Mlle. Sancoeur I really don't know where Adrien- “

"Adrien?" Chloe's voice cut the tension between the two. And the four turned to face Chloe standing in the middle of the room, Kagami beside her holding hands. "What's with Adrien? Something happened? He’s fine?" She was frantic, almost panicked.

Marinette had to admit that the girl had a talent for acting.

“Oh, Mlle. Bourgeois and Mlle. Tsurugi, you would be next on the list.” Berger said surprised.

"List? What list?” Kagami looked genuinely confused. “And what does this have to do with Adrien? Can someone explain to us what the hell is going on? "

Raincomprix had a painful expression on his face.

"Adrien Agreste went missing last night and nobody knows where he might be."

"WHAT?!"

▫▪▪

Needless to say, Natalie seemed less than happy to be leaving Marinette's house. Having sniffed every corner and not finding a single strand of blond hair to accuse the girl of kidnapping.

The officers left the house on various levels of embarrassment thanks to Sancoeur's less than ideal behavior.

▫▪▪

"What is the plan?" Damian asked.

All of them - except Luka who had gone to Liberty just to get him off the list of suspects - were at Wayne's mansion in Paris. The place that Adrien would stay hidden until it was time to appear again.

After Sabrina's warning, Marinette was quick to throw Trixx and the necklace over Adrien's hands, ordering him to transform and then casting an illusion over himself, becoming invisible. Soon after she got in touch with Damian explaining everything as quickly and succinctly as she could and he told Adrien to hide there, at Wayne mansion, where no one would come looking for him.

Luka had left at the same time as Adrien, losing the police and Sancoeur in a matter of minutes.

Kagami, Chloe and Marinette stayed in the house for an hour after Sancoeur and company left, before heading to Wayne's mansion.

Where they were trying to come up with a plan that would destroy Gabriel and Lila once and for all.

"I don’t know." Marinette sighed. “Defeating Hawkmoth was different from that here because well, the guy was a terrorist and I was just able to beat him up with all my strength. Now, Gabriel is a civilian, a despicable and horrible, but still civilian. The same goes for Rossi. I cannot go with brute force.”

"How about blackmail?" Tim suggested, they were all sitting on the floor of the game room trying to think of something.

Kagami shook her head. "Blackmail may be a good idea at first, but it loses its effectiveness as time goes on."

“It has to be something more definitive. Like jail or death.” Chloe said, not caring about her abruptness.

Adrien was not among them, which was a major factor in Chloe's lack of filter. The model had gone up to one of the guest rooms wanting to bathe and sleep. Trixx following him closely, since Marinette was not comfortable leaving him alone.

Plagg still refusing to leave the Kwamii dimension.

Plagg. Plagg.

"Wait!" Marinette stood up; her brow furrowed in concentration. “Do you remember what Adrien said? About Lila recognizing Plagg.”

Kagami bit her lip thinking, before opening her eyes wide. "He said that she knew what Plagg meant."

Tim cocked his head in confusion. "So, she saw Adrien transform before?"

Chloe shook her head frantically. The eyes were wide, too. "No." She answered. “Adrien said that Lila saw Plagg and understood what it meant. If she had seen Adrien transform before, she would have already tried to blackmail him.”

"Not to mention that he said she was surprised, before informing him that she knew what Plagg was." Kagami said.

"Which means..." murmured Marinette.

"Lila already had contact with miraculous and kwamii before she saw Plagg for the first time." Damian worked out the train of thought. "And the only miraculous who was not with the Guardian was-"

"The butterfly." Everyone said together.

The five froze, the meaning of those words weighing on them, only returning to normal when Plagg suddenly appeared between them.

"Pigtails, I have an idea on how to take down the demon Rossi." He said without the usual tone of mockery. “About Agreste senior, I think your boyfriend and his brother will get enough just by investigating his past. The guy is not very good at hiding the tracks.”

The four who were still sitting on the floor stood up, different levels of determination showing on their faces.

"But before that, let me call the cavalry." Marinette agreed, hand taking the phone out of her jeans pocket.

"Cavalry?" Tim muttered confusedly to Damian and the boy just sent a conspiratorial smile in response.

Marinette had the phone to her ear.

“Mom? I need your help and Dad's.” She said. “It's about Adrien. He needs his family.”

▫▪▪

Finding evidence against Gabriel was like Plagg said: easy.

The guy had the Everest of dirt, but he had no idea how to get rid of the evidence. He probably just hadn't been arrested yet because he was rich and because of corruption. After all, why arrest a guy for free when you can keep him free and still earn a fat bonus for that, right?!

They managed to do away with two printer paper packages and there was still a shortage of paper to print the evidence against him.

Rossi had been easy and complicated at the same time, because the evidence about her being less than a decent person had been easy to find. A little survey of the previous schools she had attended gave them more than enough evidence that the girl was at least a sociopath and at most a psychopath.

Not medicated and who, in a way, liked it.

However, finding evidence that Lila worked with the Paris terrorist had been more complicated than they thought it would be. Even with Tim and Damian together investigating this part of Lila's life, there was very little to prove that she was part of it.

What led Marinette and Damian- Ladybug and Thaelab, the current situation: La Santé Prison. Where Hawkmoth, Bob Roth, was being held. She had requested visitation for the criminal with the excuse that she had a proposal for the man in exchange for information.

She reached the small room, where there were two prison guards at each corner of the wall behind Bob, and the man himself was sitting, along with the lawyer, at the only iron table in the center of the room.

Marinette wasted no time in sitting on the available chair across the table, Damian preferring to stand, leaning against the wall behind her.

"What brings the heroes of Paris to my humble residence?" Bob Roth crossed his legs, his nose held up despite his lack of power.

"I want to know about Lila Rossi." Marinette wasted no time. "I want to know about the person who was helping you to terrorize Paris."

Bob froze in his chair, his lawyer casting suspicious looks at the man. Bob probably hadn't informed him about his aide in crime.

The prisoner cleared his throat in surprise before disguising his discomfort with a disdainful pose.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

Marinette raised an eyebrow, skeptical.

“Bob, please. Don't act like I’m an idiot.”

"I still don't know what you're talking about." He insisted.

Marinette sighed, getting up from the chair.

"Okay then." She said. "I thought we could negotiate a reduction in your sentence in exchange for information, but apparently I was wrong." She sighed before turning to leave. "Thaelab." And Damian pushed himself off the wall, following her.

Bob's eyes widened in a panic.

"WAIT." He called, Marinette and Damian stopping inches from the door, still not turning around. "If I tell-" The lawyer nudged him, trying to stop the man from speaking, but he ignored the warnings. “If I tell you about Lila, can you bring Xavier over to see me? I haven't seen my son since I was thrown here.”

Marinette and Damian looked at each other before nodding and returning to the table, both sitting down, their attention focused on Bob Roth.

The man sighed, shoulders slumped and looking away.

"You're right." He started. "Lila Rossi knew about Hawkmoth."

“How did she knew that? As far as we know, Lila arrived in Paris after you started terrorizing citizens. So, how?" Damian questioned.

Bob Roth looked up, his mouth in a thin line.

"Lila Rossi is my daughter." He replied. "A daughter I never wanted, but who came to my door threatening to expose everything to the press if I didn't do what she wanted."

▫▪▪

"This is what I call a plot twist." Adrien whistled, a recording of Marinette and Damian's conversation with Bob Roth playing. "She was blackmailing her own father."

"But now we can understand where she got this toxic behavior from." Chloe murmured. "Madam Rossi is a loving person despite being so busy, so I never understood how Lila could be so..." She waved her hands in the air, trying to find the right word.

"Bob?" Kagami offered confused.

"That will do." Chloe shrugged.

"But I don’t understand." Luka frowned. "If she was already blackmailing him with fatherhood, then why let her know about Hawkmoth?"

"Because if she tried to hand him over to the police, he would be able to 'prove' that Lila was helping him all this time." Tim responded easily.

"So, he set up his own daughter." Marinette shook her head, failing to understand how most of the people she knew had serious problems with their parents, while she was rainbows and flowers with hers.

"A girl he didn't even consider as a daughter." Damian pointed. “It was easy to notice the contempt in his voice as he talked about Lila. Very different from when he talked about Xavier.”

"Do we know why he wanted the miraculous?" Chloe asked.

Adrien looked up in confusion. “Oh? Didn't I tell you?” He tilted his head. “He wanted to revive Xavier's mother. His wife."

"I'm kind of sympathizing with him." Kagami winced in disgust. "But I don't want that."

"Okay, guys." Tim slammed hard against the keyboard. “The dossiers about Lila Rossi and Gabriel Agreste are ready. I think it's time for Adrien Agreste to show up.”

"It's show time, guys!"

▫▪▪

Mlle. Bustier was in the middle of an explanation when Markov started to fuss, the screen turning red and flashing "Urgent!"

Everyone looked at the little robot in alarm until he started to project a video on the green board.

It was a report by Nadja Chamack.

"We are here, in front of the police station, where Adrien Agreste was spotted entering accompanied by Sabine Cheng and Tom Dupain from the Dupain-Cheng bakery and three other lawyers." Nadja announced to the camera, in the background, the police station in evidence. With barriers to prevent the overtaking of the curious and journalists. “Adrien Agreste, who had disappeared a week ago, appeared today for the first time. He has not yet left the police station and the only information we have obtained so far is that he is filing a complaint about what motivated him to run away from home.”

Nadja's image was replaced by a recording of Adrien getting out of a black car with tinted windows, accompanied by Sabine and Tom - Marinette's parents -, two men and a serious-looking woman wearing suits and with a leather briefcase in her hands.

Adrien seemed far from the model image that Bustier's students were used to.

There were dark circles under his eyes, eyes that were bloodshot. The blond hair that was once shiny and silky was dull and coarse. There was an abnormal pallor in the boy's skin.

The clothes he wore were atypical. A huge hoodie, sweatpants and sneakers. Black from end to end.

Tom and Sabine were on either side of the boy, trying their best to protect him from flashes and questions, before the police finally showed up escorting them into the police station.

Filming went back to Nadja.

“As you can see, Adrien Agreste gave no statement and we had no news from Gabriel Agreste or his staff. My name is Nadja Chamack and I will be back with more information.”

The projection was cut off abruptly, the entire class in shocked silence before they jumped out of chairs, loud and confused voices. Everyone trying to understand what the hell was going on.

Sabrina was the only compound, her eyes sharp on Lila Rossi who was strangely quiet, with a sticky glow on her skin.

Sabrina was sure that if she looked Lila in the eye, she would see the dread there.

▫▪▪

"How did they find out that Adrien was going to the police station?" Tim asked confused.

"Nadja is a close friend of the Dupain-Cheng family." Damian replied disinterestedly. "Sabine contacted her and with the promise of an exclusive and Nadja alerted fellow journalists to Adrien's testimony."

Tim frowned even more confused.

“But wouldn't it be better if no one knew that Adrien was back? For us to have the trump card.”

"I thought so too, but apparently the first image of Adrien's return would have to be shocking." The boy crossed his arms. "The image of Adrien Agreste at the bottom of the well, being the first to be published in the press, to pave the case against Gabriel and Lila."

Tim winced at the harsh words.

“Wow, wasn't that a little too much? Expose Adrien like this...”

"It was his idea, actually."

"... Despite everything that's going on, Adrien manages to keep his head cool enough to think that way." Tim murmured. “I am amazed and proud. I don't know which one stands out the most.”

▫▪▪

The disclosure that Adrien had appeared was not just to spread the boy's defeated image. Of course not. Marinette would not be insensitive to such a way of letting Adrien expose himself as harshly as if he were on a freak show.

No. That had also been bait.

They knew that as soon as Gabriel found out that Adrien was back and accompanied by Marinette’s parents, it wouldn’t take long for him to break into Dupain-Cheng bakery and distribute threats about what he could or couldn’t do if they didn’t hand Adrien back to him.

Which didn't take long to happen.

After the news that Adrien had left the police station without giving a statement of what had happened, Gabriel didn't take long to appear at Sabine and Tom's door. Natalie, Gorilla - who had an expression of sadness - and two men who were supposed to be for frighten Marinette's family, but that did not have the expected effect.

“Good evening, M. Agreste. To what do I owe the honor of this most dignified visit?” Sabine asked. The mocking tone of her voice did not go unnoticed by anyone.

Man, he had the guts. The bakery was surrounded by journalists and he still had the audacity to appear as if he were the queen of England.

"Where is my son?" Gabriel asked, his entire posture showing contempt. “I hope you are aware that I will be filing a complaint for kidnapping and private imprisonment. Your daughter lied to two policemen and you and your husband covered it up.”

Tom, who was comfortably seated on the sofa, looked up. The expression on his face was very different from what he normally had.

"Kidnapping? Are you sure about that, Gabriel?” Tom asked. "I want you to think very carefully about your next words."

Gabriel snorted in offense.

"What else would it be when my son goes missing for a week and your daughter lies saying she doesn't know his whereabouts?"

“How about: harassment, attempted rape, cover-up, exploitation of child labor, neglect, gaslighting...? There are a number of things I could also suggest here, but it is better to leave that for trial day.” Marinette finally spoke, rising from the sofa and approaching the door. Approaching Gabriel.

Natalie gasped, fury shining in her eyes. "What are you talking about you-"

“If I were you, I would keep the poisonous tongue in my mouth if I don't want to lose it, Mlle. Sancoeur. I personally don't like violence, but if it's necessary I wouldn't mind teaching you some good lessons.” Sabine said, there was a sweet smile on the woman's face.

"What is this story about trial?" Gabriel demanded.

That was when Katherine Spencer, one of the lawyers Bruce had made available to defend Adrien, rose from the dinner table. She had insisted on staying at the Dupain-Cheng house, since the likelihood of Gabriel showing up to take Adrien and threatening them, was high.

"M. Agreste?” She asked. "I have some documents that should be of interest to you."

"And who would you be?" Gabriel raised his eyebrow, snobbish.

"Oh, sorry for my lack of manners." Katherine opened the leather briefcase and took a business card out of one of the smaller pockets, before handing it to Gabriel. "I'm Katherine Spencer, one of Adrien's lawyers."

Gabriel looked at Katherine and the paper, disbelieving what he read and heard.

"It says here that you are part of the Wayne conglomerate...?" He said, bewildered.

Katherine smiled, probably enjoying the effect it had on Gabriel.

"Yes, Marinette and Adrien are very close to the Wayne family, so when Mr. Wayne heard about Adrien's situation, he sent three of his best lawyers to help." She replied, the smile never failing.

With that, she opened the leather briefcase again, taking a wad of papers from the largest pocket, before handing them out to Natalie, who took more by reflex. And then she handed Gabriel a single paper.

The man's eyes grew a few inches after reading the biggest words on the paper and Katherine used this as permission to continue her speech.

"As you can see, this is an immediate restraining order." She nodded. “You and any Gabriel employee, whether personal or from your brand, including models, may not contact Adrien Agreste by any means possible. Otherwise, the police may be called.”

“But-but Adrien is Gabriel's face! My main model!”

Katherine nodded as if she understood the man's indignation.

"As you can see a little further down in that document, Adrien is indefinitely prohibited from working under the Gabriel brand until the investigation and trial are over."

"Investigation? Trial? What the hell are you talking about?” Natalie asked, looking more and more irritated.

Katherine stared at the woman without reaction.

“Adrien, Mlle. Sancoeur, was sexually harassed and nearly raped by a classmate who coincidentally also works for Gabriel.” Natalie gasped in horror. "All of this under the roof of his own home, with the permission of his own father."

"That- no-" Natalie babbled. Behind her, Gorilla had his hand over his mouth, a greenish tinge to his skin.

“I'm afraid it's true, Mlle. Sancoeur. There is testimony and evidence about it. " Katherine sighed heavily. “Today Adrien went to give his testimony again, so that there would be no reasonable doubts and then we got the restraining order. Now you must go.” She waved her hands. "There can be no contact between Agreste and Adrien."

▫▪▪

Not surprisingly, when Lila received her restraining order, she freaked out.

The girl tried with all her strength to make herself a victim, even going so far as to give an interview to a local TV channel - less famous than Nadja's, but which attracted everyone's attention because Adrien's name was involved - telling what supposedly happened.

Madam Rossi was next to her daughter, both sitting on a sofa in what should have been Lila's house, while the girl cried copiously in a false way, telling how Adrien Agreste had attacked her at a business dinner. That he just didn't go any further because they heard a strange noise coming from the main floor, so Adrien ran for fear of being caught.

▫▪▪

Adrien's fans ate Lila for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

▫▪▪

It wasn't long before she also showed up at the bakery with the mask of a good girl being wronged. Demanding that Adrien withdraw the restraining order because it was destroying their relationship.

She looked more and more insane.

When Sabine took the girl upstairs to their home, Lila thought she had finally managed to get away with it. Only to come face to face with Marinette Dupain-Cheng and another frankly scary boy - he had a horrible scowl and a murderous look - sitting as if they were waiting for her.

Lila looked around expecting to see Adrien, but there were only the two of them there. Sabine soon returned to the lower floor.

“Hello, Lila. What are you doing here?" Marinette asked curiously, a cup of tea in hand.

"Where is he, Dupain-Cheng?" She spat, not bothering to act. Marinette wouldn't believe a word she said.

Marinette raised her eyebrow in surprise.

"He?"

“Don't be stupid, Marinette. Everyone knows that Adrien is hiding here like a coward after he ran away from home.”

"Don't you mean after you tried to rape him?" The scary boy asked. That was when Lila noticed the oriental sword leaning against the side of his chair. Unsheathed.

“I didn't do that! He's just confused!” She stammered.

"I don't know Lila..." Marinette tilted her head innocently. "Blackmailing someone for... sex, also falls into the category of rape."

Lila swallowed a sigh, surprised that Marinette knew the details. She believed that Adrien had told only the basics, trying to keep his furry secret out of the spotlight. Lila had plans to use this surprise factor to her advantage, but apparently Adrien was playing to win.

"Don't be surprised, Rossi." The boy said again. "Don't think you're the hunter here."

"What-"

"With that, I want you to meet someone formally." Marinette said nonchalantly. "Plagg."

And Adrien's kwamii appeared, incredibly scary for such a small and generally cute, creature.

“Hello sausage. We have a matter to discuss.” He said, his voice resonating on the walls of Marinette's house and Lila backed away in alarm.

She needed to get out of there as soon as possible.

▫▪▪

“There, pigtails! Her memory of me is erased, but I haven't erased the attempt to... Anyway! I'm going back to the house of your murderous boyfriend, Adrien promised to watch the lion king with me with a lot of camembert.”

"Thank you, Plagg."

▫▪▪

For the interview with Nadja Chamack, Adrien decided that the best place for this interview would be in the place where he felt most secure. The Dupain-Cheng house, on Marinette's balcony.

There were only Nadja and Adrien in the camera frame, but Tom, Sabine, Luka and Marinette were in the background, along with the cameraman, in the form of support.

"Thank you for granting us this exclusive, Adrien." Nadja smiled. "I know it shouldn't be easy to sit here and relive everything, especially now with Lila Rossi's recent interview."

Adrien nodded, he looked more composed than the first time he appeared on cameras at the police station, but it was still possible to see how puffy his eyes were and how thin he had become.

He was having a hard time keeping food in his stomach.

“Thank you, Nadja. It has been a difficult time for me, but with the support that I have received from my family, I remain strong on this journey.”

"This is very good to hear Adrien." Nadja nodded before speaking again. “Could you tell us what actually happened? Many of your fans believe that Lila's statements were false. What's your version of it all?”

"Well..."

▫▪▪

This time the witch hunt version Gabriel Agreste and Lila Rossi had tripled in strength, because in addition to Adrien's fans, parents who were outraged by Gabriel's behavior and artists who knew Adrien for the sweet and kind boy he was, protested.

They demanded that Gabriel and Lila to be thrown in jail and the key forgotten at the bottom of the seine.

▫▪▪

Both were arrested the day after the interview.

Gabriel got provisional release, of course. Such a rich man would not be arrested if he could do something about it.

Lila, on the other hand, had to wait for the trial in a juvenile detention center, even though Madam Rossi had tried everything she could to keep the girl from being taken away.

▫▪▪

On the day of Gabriel's trial, the press was in full force in front of the Palace of Justice, wanting an exclusive or some pronouncement from Gabriel, because since Adrien's interview, the man has remained strangely quiet.

The court was packed. The Mlle. Bustier’s class by weight had attended the man's trial. They were all sitting in the right hall, behind where Gabriel's group of lawyers was sitting.

Only Nino and Sabrina who were on the left. Nino was sitting in the front, as close to Adrien as possible.

He was happy that Gabriel was finally getting what he deserved, but also sad that Adrien had to go through hell for this to finally happen.

Sabrina was content to sit next to Chloe and Kagami.

The Wayne family had also attended, all wanting to show support for Adrien in this difficult time. Leaving the Super family to look after Gotham while they were away.

There were also curious people, some people from Adrien's fan club, some parents of Mlle. Bustier's students and accredited reporters like Nadja.

The stage was set and Gabriel was the main character.

The defense attorney had taken the route of trying to turn Gabriel into a victim of Lila's manipulations, which might have been true to some extent, but that made no difference when Gabriel was a terrible father. And such awful person.

He had no excuse for that, because it was obvious that Emillie was the only one of the two who really took care of her son and that it ended when she died.

To say that it was satisfactory when Katherine tore him up in front of the audience, jury and judge Lahiffe - Nino's mother - did not come close to the real feeling that the miraculous team felt.

When Gabriel was found guilty... Well, it wasn't Marinette's fault the shout of celebration they let out.

Thirty years in prison and a ban on any attempt to contact Adrien.

▫▪▪

Adrien later that day, discovered that the Dupain-Cheng were officially applying for guardianship.

He still had two years to reach legal age and as Gabriel and neither Emillie had close family, Adrien would enter the system. What Sabine and Tom Dupain-Cheng would not admit.

Adrien was already part of the family.

▫▪▪

The miraculous team was amused to realize that every time someone called Adrien Agreste, he would correct it by saying it was Adrien Dupain-Cheng now. With his chest puffed out like a peacock spreading feathers.

▫▪▪

Mlle. Bustier's class and even the teacher herself tried to contact Adrien or any of the three - Adrien, Marinette and Chloe -, but every attempt was thwarted by Tom.

Adrien needed time and he couldn't do that with a group of curious and insensitive teenagers buzzing in his ear.

▫▪▪

Lila's trial had been less of a show and more of a funeral.

She appeared in court accompanied by prison guards, her hands and feet handcuffed and typical prisoner clothing, but what attracted the most attention about the girl was her short hair. Navigating between a pixie and a mullet.

Adrien shifted uncomfortably in his chair next to Katherine, looking confusedly at Marinette.

He knew that Marinette was watching every step Lila took, even in the detention center, so she was probably aware of this sudden change in Lila's appearance. But she never said anything to him.

(Of course Marinette said nothing. She knew that if she told Adrien that other girls in the detention center - his fans - had taken revenge on the Italian girl for what she did, Adrien would feel guilty. Even if Lila deserved a lot worse than a simple bad haircut.)

As the trial passed, everyone there was certain that Lila was being judged just because she was a terrible human being who doesn't know how to hear no; but when Katherine was getting more and more evidence out of her briefcase, everyone started to understand that Lila was much worse than they thought.

Madam Rossi had hyperventilated three times before the big revelation that Lila helped Bob put terror in Paris. So, when the man came in as a witness against Lila and told the whole truth, the woman fell hard against the wooden bench.

She had to be carried out of court.

▫▪▪

There was no deliberation.

Lila was immediately found guilty.

She got a life sentence with no chance of parole.

▫▪▪

"How are you feeling, chaton?" Marinette asked, fingers dancing over his blond hair.

“Relieved, sad and tired. And also happy.” Adrien replied, his face buried in the girl's neck.

The two had built a fort on Marinette's balcony, enjoying the clear skies and warm night. Trying to disconnect from everything and everyone.

Adrien was curled over Marinette's body, grabbing the girl as if she were his lifeline and Marinette had her arms around him, her fingers playing with the blond hair on the back of his neck.

“I know it has been difficult, that it is a lot to assimilate, but I want you to know that I will always be here for you. Always." Marinette whispered. "I will never let my kitten suffer again."

Adrien sniffed, arms tightening Marinette even more.

“Thank you, Mari. I'm very lucky to have met you.”

BONUS #1:

"I was thinking here..." Adrien looked up from where he was kneading the dough, drawing Marinette's attention across the table decorating cupcakes.

"Yes?" She murmured, the tip of her tongue dangling in concentration.

"If you're going to pursue a career in the fashion world, who's going to take care of the bakery business?" He looked away, his cheek starting to turn a lovely red. "Sabi-Mom and dad won't have a lifelong willingness to take care of the business, so who's going to do it for them?"

Marinette placed the cupcake on the table, looking at Adrien seriously.

"Adrien, be direct and say what you are thinking."

"I-"

"I think Adrien is trying to say that he wants to become a full-time baker, isn't that cupcake?" Luka asked, appearing out of nowhere behind the blond boy and kissing the reddened cheek.

Adrien squeaked in surprise, almost dropping the dough off the counter.

"Luka!" He scolded. “Don't scare me like that! And don't call me a cupcake!”

"Sweetie?"

"Sweetie either!"

Marinette rolled her eyes at them both.

Luka, after he started his relationship with Adrien, seemed to discover new parts of himself that he was previously unaware of.

Like being hopelessly in love and endless flirting.

It was disgusting.

"Okay, you two stop." She got attention. “The two of you flirting is disgusting. Too much sugar for my system.”

Adrien snorted, offended, Luka just winked boldly.

Marinette ignored them both.

"But if that's the case, I don't think dad would mind Adrien." She continued. “He will probably be very happy, actually. God knows how that man tried with all his might to develop my interest in baking full-time, but he never succeeded.”

Adrien smiled, lighting up like a Christmas tree.

"Do you really think?!"

"Of course." She nods. "Best of all, we have some of the best pastry schools here in Paris, in case you don't want to leave."

"Who's leaving?" Damian came into the kitchen looking like he was still asleep.

He and Luka had spent the night at the Dupain-Cheng house after a double date for horror movies with lots of buttered popcorn and sugary drinks.

It was supposed to be a slumber party with everyone, but Kagami had taken Chloe and Sabrina on a date; Nino was on Chris' nanny duty and Damian's brothers, who had arrived in Paris that night, preferred to stay home to recover from the jetlag.

So, it was just the four of them. And they managed to get to half of Annabelle before they passed out in the dreamland.

Marinette and Adrien just waking up when Tom passed the room to go down to the bakery, Luka and Damian sleeping heavily.

"No one. Mari was explaining to Adrien that he is more than welcome to continue the family business while she reigns in the fashion world.” Luka handed him the coffee mug.

"Amen." Damian murmured, planting a kiss on the girl's forehead before swallowing half of the black coffee at once.

"He looks so much like his brother when he does that." Said Adrien, remembering the time he had slept on the sofas at Wayne Manor and woken up with Tim sipping a huge mug of black coffee as if he were drinking water.

Marinette snorts with amusement.

"I always say that, but he never takes me seriously."

Damian frowned unhappy with the comments, but said nothing, seeing Sabine open the door with a tray of cookies in her hand.

"Look what just came out of the warm oven!"

Marinette smiled, her eyes on Adrien who had run to the woman, trying to help her with the tray even though she didn't need to. He was blushing adorably for the attention Sabine was giving him.

She was happy that Adrien was finally getting the attention and love he deserved.

BONUS #2:

Marinette was sitting in a small, but wonderful, restaurant with Leon.

Leon whom Adrien affectionately called Gorilla and who of everyone in that house, took care of Adrien as much as he could.

He was also the only one to respect the restraining order - since he still worked for the Gabriel and Gabriel brand - when others believed it was just a means of scaring.

Marinette knew that the man was a good person, that he really liked Adrien and that he had been blaming himself for a while now, for what had happened.

"How's he doing?" Leon asked, his voice disproportionately small for such a large body.

Marinette smiled; the pasta dish forgotten in favor of the man.

“Getting better." She answered sincerely. “There are more good days than bad, there are words that we have to avoid at all costs because of the trigger, but Adrien is doing well. Therapy is helping a lot.”

Leon looked down, a shy smile on his face.

“Is he still going to school? I know how much he enjoyed having a normal life. Or as normal as possible.”

"Yes, mom and dad transferred him to the lycée that I'm attending with Chloe and Kagami." Marinette nodded. "Things at Dupont were inconceivable to him."

Leon looked at her again. “I'm glad he found people he could trust, Mlle. Dupain-Cheng.”

Marinette snorted, amused. “Please, Leon. Just Marinette.” She stared at the man, holding his gaze. "He misses you, you know?"

Leon's jaw dropped in surprise.

"Don't be so surprised!" She laughed. "It is true. You were the only person he really felt close to in that place and who never hurt him.”

"Oh..." Leon looked away.

"You should come to dinner with us sometime." Marinette continued. "Now that you no longer work for Gabriel, there is no restraining order to stop you."

"I-"

"Not to mention that we need someone trained to help us when Adrien's fans and journalists get really aggressive." She said innocently before drinking water.

Leon froze in surprise, incredulous at what he heard. Until a sincere smile opened on the man's face.

"Okay."

"Yea?" Marinette asked hopefully.

"Yes."

Leon watched the tiny girl wave her arms happily, not caring about the amused looks and laughter she attracted.

Maybe it was a good start for him too.

#lukadrien #maribat #daminette #kagami x chloe x sabrina #ml salt #lila rossi salt #lila bashing #gabriel agreste salt #gabriel bashing #potentially triggering #miraculous ladybug

[lady-wallace]

A Box of Chocolates (Febuwhump Day 7: “Poisoning”)

For today’s @febuwhump​ prompt: Poisoning

Fandom: JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Diamond is Unbreakable

Synopsis: After a mysterious box of chocolates shows up on Josuke's desk, he decides it would be funny to pass them to Rohan. That is until he realizes that someone has it out for him…

~~~~~~~~

Read on Ao3

Read on FF.net

~~~~~~~

Josuke stared down at the unsolicited box that sat on his desk.

Okuyasu stood behind him, scratching his head. "I wonder who put it there? It's not even valentine's day."

"Yeah…that's why I'm wary," Josuke said slowly.

Okuyasu grinned. "Come on, Josuke, it's probably just a girl, a secret admirer. You know you have lots of them."

Josuke looked around the room and saw a lot of girls casting disparaging looks at the box of chocolates, but none ignoring it completely or blushing when he looked their way.

"Yeah, but most of the time they don't bother with the secret part," Josuke mused. "I don't know, man, it's just weird."

"Well, if you don't want them, I'll eat them!" Okuyasu said eagerly, reaching for the box. "I doubt anyone will ever leave me a box of chocolates."

Josuke snagged the box away from him. "No way, man! Someone could have spit in these for all we know! No one should eat them."

Okuyasu pouted, folding his arms over his chest. "So you're just going to let good chocolate go to waste because you're afraid someone might have spit in them?"

Josuke opened his mouth to reply when an idea popped into his head that he just couldn't find it in himself to ignore. He started to grin.

"What?" Okuyasu demanded.

Josuke chuckled and lowered his voice. "What if we passed them on to Rohan? Then if they're prank chocolates, he'll be the one to deal with it?"

Okuyasu grinned. "Yeah! That would be hilarious! Especially if they were filled with toothpaste or something!"

"And it would make up for when he bought the last of my favorite mini cakes right in front of me at Owson's last week."

Okuyasu chuckled and Josuke tucked the chocolates into his bag for later.

After school they swung by Rohan's house, hoping he wouldn't see them.

Josuke took the chocolates from his bag with a grin. "All right, I'll just run up to the porch and put this in the mail slot or something."

Okuyasu frowned suddenly. "Josuke, are you sure we should do this? I mean, what if there really is something wrong with the chocolates?"

Josuke snorted. "Come on, Okuyasu, there's probably nothing wrong with them at all. Besides, it's Rohan. He deserves it."

Okuyasu shrugged and Josuke snuck up to the porch and slipped the chocolates into the small mail slot by the door before running back to the sidewalk with a grin. The idea that Rohan would unwillingly eat chocolates someone spit on—spit meant for Josuke—really made his day.

"Come on, I've got to stop by the store and pick up a few things for mom before heading home," Josuke told his friend. "Want to come with?"

"Sure," Okuyasu replied as they walked off, the deed done.

~~~~~~

Rohan held his grocery bag in the crook of one arm as he dug for his keys. He really hadn't wanted to go out today but he was out of both tea and coffee and there was no way he would be able to finish the new script without something to drink.

He finally found the keys in his pocket and went to unlock the door when he saw something sticking out of his mailbox.

Curious, Rohan reached over to pull it out, but instead of a package, it was a box of chocolates.

He snorted. Probably left by a fan. He really wished that snot-nosed brat Hazamada hadn't found his address because he had blabbed it to anyone who would listen and now it was an unlikely day when Rohan could actually work without someone coming to knock on his door for an autograph. Most of the time he just pretended he wasn't home. He'd tried erasing it from the brat's head but somehow he just seemed to find out about it again.

However, he was actually craving something sweet, so this couldn't have come on a better day. He'd certainly enjoy a few of these while he worked.

First order of business was making coffee, though.

Once Rohan had made a cup of coffee and retired to his studio, he started to work on the script for his next chapter of Pink Dark Boy. It was due tomorrow and he'd been stuck on a couple parts, but the walk to the store that day had helped him to figure out where he wanted to take it, so now it should only take him a couple hours to write it all out.

He scribbled a few notes then turned to open the box of chocolates. They smelled delicious, all of them with different fillings. Rohan popped one into his mouth and instantly had to eat another one. Maybe it was just because he was craving chocolate, but these seemed particularly good.

Before he knew it, he was just working on the last scene for this script and he looked over for another chocolate, realizing that more than half of them were gone.

Rohan pursed his lips. He probably shouldn't eat any more, and yet, who was here to tell him no? He took one more—okay, two—and finished up the script, sitting back and feeling satisfied with his progress.

Now he just had to call his editor and let him know that the script would be on the way.

He got up to refill his coffee and grabbed the phone in the kitchen after pouring a fresh cup. As he dialed, a pang in his stomach made him wince and he rubbed his middle ruefully. Okay, maybe he had eaten too many chocolates. He could sometimes get carried away when he was writing. It had been a long time since he'd given himself a stomach ache from sweets though. Really rather childish of him.

When his editor picked up, he leaned back against the counter to talk, watching the steam rise from his cup of coffee as he tried to ignore the increasingly irritable pangs in his stomach. He was really starting to regret his greediness right now.

"I'll have it faxed to you within a few hours," Rohan promised and ended the call. He took his coffee and sipped it, but just a swallow made his stomach feel a little nauseous. Maybe he needed some water instead.

He grabbed a bottle from the fridge and went back up to the studio to start reading over the pages for a quick edit, making a few notes and then, once he was satisfied, he went over to the fax machine.

As he stood however, he felt suddenly dizzy and his stomach protested so much that he had to nearly bend double as a cramp lanced through him. Rohan grunted a curse. Was it too much to ask to be able to enjoy a few chocolates? Okay, he had eaten more than just a few, but still, this was a little ridiculous.

He started faxing the pages when the dizziness and nausea got so strong, Rohan was sure he was going to throw up. He hurriedly clapped a hand over his mouth and rushed to the bathroom, panting. Nothing happened, but a sudden, tearing pain, ripped him in half and he collapsed to his knees with a cry, vomiting into the toilet.

Stomach cramps assaulted him, forcing him to bend double even after he finished vomiting. He curled up on the bathroom floor, breaking out into a cold sweat as he trembled, arms wrapped around his protesting stomach. He whimpered, squeezing his eyes shut. This wasn't normal. Was something wrong with him? Were…were the chocolates poisoned or something? No, that was ridiculous. Why would anyone give him poisoned chocolates?

Rohan got his breath under control and sat up slowly, crawling to the door, deciding he would lie down in bed until this passed. Maybe if he could sleep off his stupid mistake of eating way too many chocolates, he would feel better.

Another agonizing cramp tore through his belly and Rohan cried out, tears of pain springing to his eyes as he doubled over, head pressed against the floor. Medicine…should he take something? What should he take? Actually, should he be calling an ambulance right now? That might actually be a more logical idea.

As he tried to shakily pull himself to his feet to go back downstairs to use the phone, he felt a wave of nausea and dizziness overtake him again along with even more agonizing stomach cramps before his body seemed to simply quit on him.

Rohan's eyes rolled up in his head and he collapsed at the top of the stairs.

~~~~~

Josuke and Okuyasu finished with the shopping and were heading back to Josuke's house.

"You want to stay for a while to do homework?" Josuke asked him.

"Yeah, I didn't really understand the lesson," Okuyasu told him sheepishly.

"It's okay, I'll help you out."

"Josuke Higashikata."

Josuke frowned and turned around to see another student standing there, glowering darkly at him.

"Yeah?" he inquired, wondering what this guy wanted.

The other student clenched his fists. "I bet you don't even know who I am, do you? Well, you'll remember now. I know your secret. I know you have a Stand!"

Josuke's stance turned wary, and Okuyasu also tensed beside him. "Oh yeah? How do you know that?"

"Because I have one too!" the guy said smugly. "Which means I'm just as cool as you now."

"Good grief," Josuke muttered under his breath.

"So I guess you didn't fall for the chocolates?" the student asked darkly.

Josuke frowned. "Chocolates?"

Okuyasu made a sound of surprise. "Wait. Josuke, this is your secret admirer?"

The other student clenched his fists and stomped angrily. "No, you idiot! The chocolates were poisoned to give me an advantage! However, now it looks like I'll just have to face you myself. It doesn't matter anyway. When I beat you into a pulp, the girls at school will think I'm the cool one. My Stand—"

"Wait, poisoned chocolates?" Josuke demanded, cutting the guy off and turning to stare, wide-eyed in horror at Okuyasu. "Rohan!"

Okuyasu's eyes widened in understanding and they raced away, pushing past the other student.

"Hey! Wait a minute! Come back and fight me, Higashikata! You're just a coward!"

Josuke ignored him, really, really hoping Rohan hadn't eaten the chocolates.

"Crap, crap, crap," he breathed as they sprinted back toward the mangaka's house. "He's gonna kill me for this. He's actually gonna kill me this time."

They got to the house and Josuke gulped as he saw the chocolates were no longer in the mail slot. He threw the bags of groceries onto the porch and pounded on the door.

"Rohan, hey! It's Josuke and Okuyasu!"

They waited a few seconds but there was no answer. Josuke pounded harder. "Rohan, come on, this is seriously important! I mean it!"

Still no answer.

Josuke bit his lip and brought out Crazy Diamond to break through the door and reassemble it.

"Rohan?" he called. If the mangaka was here, surely he would have come out by now to yell at them.

Okuyasu started looking around, and Josuke went for the stairs.

He found Rohan as soon as he got to the top.

The artist was lying on the top of the stairs, twitching and moaning softly, sweat glistening on his skin.

"Okuyasu!" Josuke shouted to his friend as he leapt up the last few steps and crouched beside Rohan, gripping his shoulder and shaking him. "Rohan! Rohan, come on, wake up!" He slapped the mangaka none-too-gently across the face and Rohan's eyes fluttered, spearing Josuke.

"You…" he croaked. "Damn you, Josuke Higashikata." He then gasped and curled up, arms wrapped around his stomach. "It—It hurts, gah…"

"Hey, Josuke!" Okuyasu shouted as he pounded up the stairs. "Can you heal him?"

"I—I don't think I can do anything about this," Josuke said helplessly as he watched Rohan writhe on the floor, in obvious agony. This was really bad. "Rohan, where are the chocolates?"

The mangaka made a weak gesture to his studio and Okuyasu ran to get them.

"You…did this…" Rohan growled at Josuke.

The teen paled, feeling genuinely awful. "No, it's not like that, Rohan, I promise! I didn't know! I would never have—"

"Josuke, he ate almost all of them!" Okuyasu said as he came back with the box.

Josuke's eyes blew wide. They didn't even know what the kid had used. "Okay, we need to call an ambulance. I don't think Crazy Diamond can do anything about this. Stay with him."

Josuke rushed to the kitchen and grabbed the phone, calling for the ambulance. It was a rush of action after that. He and Okuyasu carried Rohan down to the couch to make him as comfortable as possible before the paramedics arrived, then they all piled into the back of the ambulance, not knowing what else to do.

At the hospital, Josuke paced the waiting room, chewing his fingernails. Why the hell did he think it was a good idea to give the chocolates to Rohan? This was all on him. What if Rohan wouldn't be okay? It would be Josuke's fault. It was so stupid, what had he been thinking? Well, for starters, he never would have expected the chocolates to actually be poisoned. Who did that?!

He and Okuyasu waited in tense silence for what seemed like hours. Then finally a familiar figure turned the corner.

Josuke glanced up, surprised. "J-Jotaro! How did you…?"

"Speedwagon Foundation," Jotaro said tersely, glowering at Josuke as he folded his arms across his chest. "Caught the kid who was going after you. Found him ranting in the street."

"Is Rohan…?" Josuke asked quietly, dreading the answer.

Jotaro glowered at him for a long moment, making Josuke feel even smaller than he usually did around the tall man. "He'll be fine. They were able to pump his stomach to flush out the majority of the poison. Luckily it was plant based instead of an acid."

Josuke felt sick. He wrapped his arms around himself.

"So he'll be okay?" Okuyasu asked quietly.

"He'll make a full recovery but he'll be weak for a few days," Jotaro said, his eyes darkening. "So, you wanna tell me what the hell happened?"

Josuke slumped into a chair and explained the story to Jotaro. The older man was silent the entire time, just glowering at them and when finally Josuke trailed off, looking down at his feet, Jotaro sighed and tugged his hat over his eyes.

"Good grief," he muttered. "Well, it's up to Rohan whether he wants to forgive you. I don't know that I would."

Josuke and Okuyasu hung their heads. "Can…can we see him?" Josuke asked.

Jotaro was silent for a long moment but finally nodded. "If he's awake."

They followed Jotaro through the hospital hallways and to a room. Jotaro knocked on the door before opening it and stepping inside.

"You have visitors."

Josuke and Okuyasu slinked inside and Josuke was shocked to see how bad Rohan looked lying in the bed. He looked almost worse than when Highway Star had stolen his nutrients.

The mangaka's eyes were half open and practically spearing Josuke.

"Hey," the teenager grinned. "Um…glad you're gonna be okay."

Rohan grunted, lip curling.

Josuke sighed, shoulders slumping. "Rohan…look, I'm…I'm really sorry. It was stupid. But I swear I didn't think there was anything wrong with the chocolates."

Rohan continued to glower. "You're an idiot."

Okay, Josuke would take that. "I know you probably hate me even more, but…I really am sorry."

Rohan sighed and rolled his eyes. "Yes. Though I do suppose you also found me, so…I guess we're even."

Josuke blinked and nodded quickly. "Okay, I'll take that."

Rohan speared him again. "But if you ever think of coming near my house again, I will have Heaven's Door give you a very embarrassing tick. And I can be creative."

Josuke laughed nervously. "Copy that. Okay, we'll let you rest now."

He and Okuyasu beat a hasty retreat from the room. Josuke felt a bit of relief flow through him though. Even though Rohan would probably never trust him again, at least he would be okay.

They ran into Koichi on their way back to the waiting room.

"Guys, there you are! I just heard about Rohan-Sensei! What happened?"

Josuke and Okuyasu shared an awkward look.

Yeah…now…they were gonna have to tell Koichi…

#jojos bizarre adventure #diamond is unbreakable #febuwhumpday7 #febuwhump #poisoning #my fics #one shots #jjba #jjba fanfiction #jjba part 4 #rohan kishibe #josuke higashitaka #okuyasu #rohan whump #sick rohan #pranks gone wrong #art #jjba fanart

[derryhawkins]

I Love Him, Your Honor [2 of ??]

summary: During college, Richie works part time at a law office for the sole reason it pays well, and he honestly thinks it’s utter hell. But then he meets another part time employee who works down in the file room and, well, maybe the law office isn’t completely hellish. word count: 4.1k a/n: our fave boy mike makes an appearance near the end & rich sees eddie’s clothed ass for the first time, so enjoy 

AO3 link; chapter one

chapter two: boring as all hell

The work load at the law office ends up being relatively easy. At first, on that Tuesday when he first started once he sorted out the hours he'd come in with the three lawyers, everything sounded complicated and Richie fully believed he had gotten himself into a extremely hard job with just the simple persuasion of money on Bev's part. That, thankfully, isn’t the case at all. The rest of the week goes by smoothly though, much to his surprise. He doesn't really do much Tuesday. Various other employees sat him show him how to do different things throughout the day so he would be able to do what they asked and what they lawyers needed, and he catches on rather quickly, impressing everyone. He essentially becomes their little elf as the rest of the week rolls by - as much as his six foot, lanky being could be an elf. Mostly, he just does things on the computer. He scans stuff in, searches clients, checks people's files in the N-drive or whatever it’s called, and other various boring shit that's mind numbing.

It's easy. But it's so boring.

Richie is just glad he's allowed to listen to his music while he works or else he would have gone batshit crazy on the first day and the ones following. He doesn't even have to work on Fridays; the law office is closed, and people only go in to make up hours or catch up on work they got behind on. He just has to work from eleven to five Mondays, and then eight to three Tuesdays through Thursdays. Easy peasy, lemon squeezy.

A tune of one of Hozier's songs plays through his ear buds as he sits in the rolling chair in front of the computer. His fingers tap against one of the arm chairs as he checks the releases that had been sent back by clients, making sure they signed where they needed to and that it was stamped correctly. His eyes lifted up for a split second as someone walks by the cubicle, the woman's blonde hair catching his attention, and a split second later the woman is shouting down the hall to one of the other women. It's mostly women who work at the law office, and Richie can only this that this was his teen's wet dream. Only, it's not at the same time. He doesn't find any one here attractive, and he doesn't mind that, and he would include Bev - she's one of the prettiest girls he knows - but she’s engaged and basically his sister so she’s bunched in with the others, but his hormonal side of him wishes there's someone worth his ogling. The only other guys are the two other lawyers, Thomas and Peter; middle age men.

A sigh leaves his lips as he sits up to take the staple out of the papers so he can scan them in, only to stop short when someone enters the cubicle. Richie blinks at the woman and takes out an earbud. Her hair is brunette and looks to be styled in an 80s sort of way. She's probably the oldest one who works at the law office other than Peter, and she has a look that kind of reminds Richie of Stan when the Jew has had enough of his best friend's shenanigans. He half wonders if they would get along, and completely wondering what her name is.

Her dark brown eyes squint a little through her tiny glasses as they look him up and down. "You look tall," she states.

Richie slowly nods as he pauses his music. "I am. My whole family's pretty tall, actually. Dad's over six foot, Mom's close to five nine, and the little demon I have as a sister is probably the tallest girl in her grade."

She grins, pleased. "Perfect! Follow me, there's a few lights out and all of us women aren't exactly on the tall side here," she tells him. With a hand, she hurriedly motions for him to follow and then walks away just as fast. Richie scrambles out of the chair, nearly tripping over his own feet, and follows her closer to the back of the building where the back door is, the one the employees use to come and go when getting to and leave from their job. She suddenly stops and points up. "The bulbs went out, have been for weeks, and the maintenance guy is a slacker."

Richie looks up with furrowed brows. "Listen, I dunno how to tell you this, but I'm not Mr. Fantastic. I gotta have a ladder even if I am six foot."

"Mr. Who?"

"Comic character, I think, Sasha," the blonde woman who he saw pass by his cubicle a minute earlier says, sitting at her desk in the office that's right by them. "DC, maybe? I dunno, my son mentioned something about it the other day."

Richie gives a tight smile. "Marvel," he corrects. "Mr. Fantastic can-."

Sasha waves a hand. "I don't care! I don't care, just fix the lights."

His eyebrows shoot up and he holds his hands up. While Sasha goes to get the new light bulbs, Richie and the blonde, Deb, search for the ladder. They do, eventually, but it’s broken, the things that hold the ladder up right are only attached to one side of it. The next ten minutes are filled with the two searching for something to help Richie get to the ceiling, and he finds a somewhat sturdy green card table. Once he gets back to where the lightbulbs are out, he unfolds the table legs, waving off Deb’s and Sasha’s concerns.

“Hey, it’s better than the ladder,” Richie tells them, leaning on the surface of the card table to see how wobbly it actually is. Then he climbs on completely just as Thomas walks up. The man stares and takes a sip of his coffee.

“Are you trying to get the newbie killed?” Thomas asks. He walks over and goes into Deb’s office to set his coffee down before walking to the card table, holding the edge as Richie reaches up to screw out the old bulb.

“He’s tall and we need them changed, Thomas,” Sasha says.

“You could’ve used the boy in the file room.”

Richie looks down at the adults and hands Deb the old light bulb as she hands him the new one. To make us seem as if he’s not listen, he busies himself with putting the new bulb in.

“He’s out today – something about a test.”

“He is coming in later, though,” Deb says. “After, of course.”

“Also, he’s short. Hence Richard.”

“You women are something else,” Thomas sighs.

Richie grins as he finishes up the first one and climbs off of the table, scooting it under the next bulb that needed to be fixed. He climbs back and on repeats what he did before. The three adults continue to talk about File Boy. Apparently, he’s part time too, but none of them except for Sasha see much of him since her work space is in a room in the very back of the large file room; no one else really goes to the file room unless they need a file, which isn’t too often but often enough to at least see a glimpse of the working boy. Richie keeps his mouth shut from asking anything about him, planning on just bombarding Beverly with them later.

Richie half wonders what the other guy looks like as he does the third and final bulb. Blond or brunet – or, maybe a dyed bright color like blue, or a darker red – with green eyes, or maybe he has brown eyes? Light skin or dark skin; how short is this File Boy anyway? Apparently not as tall as himself, Richie thinks, if any of Sasha’s words are a hint. He blinks rapidly, half from his thoughts and half from the light of the new bulb as it got screwed in correctly. He’s so interested in the file guy already it’s almost comical.

I’ll just blame it on the fact I haven’t gotten laid in three months, Richie thinks. Not whatever Beverly is going to come with – which will be the total opposite of needing and wanting a hookup.

He rubs his eyes under his glasses and gets off of the card table not so gracefully. “There ya go, madam,” Richie grins as he uses a British voice, bowing dramatically at Sasha. A screwing joke sits at the tip of his tongue but he keeps a hold of it. He doesn’t want to get fired yet. “Gives off an enlightening point of view, does it not?” He asks, still using the British accent and still smiling.

Thomas laughs at the pun as Sasha smiles amusedly. Deb half rolls her eyes as if exasperated by the pun, and Richie turns to her feigning hurt.

“Do you not like puns, Deb?”

Deb shakes her head. “Nope. They’re just not funny to me.”

He drops his jaw. “I think you just broke my heart.”

Deb rolls her eyes again but there’s no annoyance or fire in the action. “You’ll heal,” she tells him with a small smile.

Thomas laughs, a loud sound that goes through the building. He lays a hand on Richie’s shoulder. “You’re funny, kid.” Then, he’s grabbing the coffee he set in Deb’s office and leaving, Richie grinning wide.

Sasha chuckles. “You are interesting, I’ll put it that way. Thanks for the help, by the way.”

“Ah, ‘s no problem,” Richie says, almost sheepishly, and puts his hands in his hoodie pocket.

He then helps put the card table back where they got it while Sasha throws the busted bulbs away. Then he’s back at his desk, boredom hitting him like a train.

+++

The café and grill Stan works at isn’t as busy as Richie thought it was going to be. There are still a lot of people about, but it’s not over flowing. The line to the front is just a bit longer than it usually is when Richie normally visits, and more tables are filled. It's nearing close to rush hour, which explains the abundance of people, and Richie knows that its only going to become more busy, but that doesn't stop him and Stan from sitting at a far back table and moaning about their jobs.

"Literally none of my co-workers polite to the customers half the time," Stan tells Richie, angrily sipping on a cold brew tea he made himself moments before Richie entered the building. "I'm amazed we have customers to begin with - and I know there have been complaints about them! Roger needs to fire all these assholes."

Richie bites into the cinnamon muffin he paid for. Crumbs fell into his lap and on the table, but he doesn't bother to brush them away. "Dude, I know," he says with a mouthful of muffin, "That girl - Grits, or whatever - seemed like she wanted to murder when I ordered this muffin. Speaking of, if this were a person, I'd fuck it. Marriage is plausible, too."

Stan's face contorts into disgust. "Who are you, that underage kid in that one movie with a peach kink?"

It takes Richie a moment to understand but then he's belting out a laugh, sliding down the seat he's in. "Stan gets off a good one," he says, still laughing. It's only when he calms down a bit when he talks again. "But, gross, man. No. If I ever actually become that just toss me in piranha infested waters."

"Deal. So, how's the law office?"

Richie lets out a groan and sinks farther down into the chair. "Boring as all hell," he says. He pulls off part of the muffin and stuffs it into his mouth. "I mean, it's easy. Having lunch with Bev like we're in high school again is cool, and the ladies are pretty nice, I guess. Lawyers are chill. But, fuck, it's so mind numbing. And usually I don't mind that, but its all the time!"

"Honestly surprised you're alive." At Richie's slightly confused look, Stan elaborates, "Your ADHD."

His mouth forms an 'O' shape. He hums and nods, things making sense all of a sudden. It's not like he's forgotten about having ADHD - he has to take medicine for it, so it doesn't ever really leave his mind - it's just that it hasn't been such a big deal since his senior year of high school when his parents were finally brought to the realization that their hyperactive son has ADHD. His grades sky rocketed that final year, he was actually on time for school, and his impulses died down. Of course nothing was perfect; even with the meds Richie still struggles. It's become a normal thing in his life within the past few years.

Stan chuckles. "Dude, you're screwed," he says, fixing a few crooked napkins on table.

Richie makes a face. "Tell me about it," he mumbles, eyes watching Stan as he scrunches up his nose when unable to get the napkins just right. Richie grabs them and sets the napkins in his lap, away from Stan's sight. "Speaking of disabilities," he starts, "How's the OCD thing?"

Stan looks slightly annoyed that Richie took the napkins, but the look is gone within seconds. He shrugs and leans back in the chair, but still somehow sitting up straight. "Good, actually. Obviously a few things still bother me, but the meds help. Have since middle school, you know that."

"Just makin' sure, Stan," Richie says, smiling softly. "You're my best friend."

"Oh, don't get all sappy now, bitch!" Stan exclaims, grinning wide.

Richie laughs and says sorry repeatedly for a few seconds. After that, silence falls over them, and Richie finishes the muffin while Stanley finishes his drink. Richie swipes the crumbs onto the floor and sets the napkins back on the table as neatly as he can, and doesn't take them away when Stan reaches over to fix them again, this time satisfied with the outcome. Richie looks around as Stan pulls out his phone to check the time, noticing that it's getting even busier than when he first came in. He's about to ask if Stan needs to get back to work when his eyes land on a guy in a blue polo shirt, and jeans that outlines his ass perfectly. It's unfortunate that Richie can't see the guy's face because there's no doubt in his mind that the guy's face looks as stunning. But Richie can see that he was brunet, the hair styled nicely out of his face; and the guy is tan, and only a few or so inches taller than the blonde girl beside him.

Stan looks up then and to Richie, who's head is tilted at a ninety-degree angle to get a better look. Stan turns around, quickly noticing the boy in the blue polo but also noticing the blonde. She's positively stunning; the hair is in a loose braid, and Stan can see the blue her eyes from where he's sitting. The nice shirt she has on brought out the blue color, and the skinny jeans hugged her legs nicely. Stan forces himself to move his eyes back to her face and a dopey smile forms on his lips as he watches her laugh at something her friend says.

"I think I just fell in love."

"Look at that ass."

Both nineteen year olds still and quickly move to look at one another.

"How are we friends?" Stan asks, brows close together.

"Beats me," Richie says. He goes back to look, but sits up straight. "Where'd they go?" The question causes Stan to turn back around again. They have to look completely weird as they search around the café and grill for brunet boy and blonde girl. With their luck, they don't spot either of them, and it confuses the two best friends, wondering how the hell either of the two people they were staring at disappeared so quickly. "His ass was too perfect, it has to be a hallucination."

Stan rolls his eyes. "That's bullshit!" He pauses and looks at Richie once again. "You gotta stop checking out random people's asses."

"Like you weren't checking out his friend!"

"I was captivated by her beauty, there's a difference, Richard!"

"No-."

"Uris! Back to work! We're getting too busy," the manager calls from a bit away from them.

"Be there in a sec!" He then turns to Richie as he stands. "See you at the game night, Rich."

Richie smiles and stands as well. "Text me if you see the girl again."

"...For why?"

"So I can rush over and embarrass you."

"I hate you."

They then say a quick goodbye, and Stan is heading back to work while Richie grabs their trash and throws it away before leaving, doing one more look over everyone inside just to make sure they didn't over look the two earlier. He shrugs away the disappoint when he doesn't spot them, and leaves, texting his dorm mate if he wants to do a Forensic Files marathon later.

+++

"Y'know, sex is cool - I love it, personally - but that cinnamon muffin might just come back up."

Richie, he realizes, should have known something was up when Mike Hanlon, his dorm mate, never responded. During the Lyft ride back to the university, he just assumed Mike was neck deep in studying for one of his classes. And, technically, he had been studying, Richie guesses; it just wasn't for school.

Mike Hanlon smiles awkwardly and side glances at the boy in bed with him. The two covered waist down thanks to the bed sheet; Richie doesn't know what he would have done if everything had been out for all to see. "Sorry, man, we thought you'd be out longer," Mike explained.

He shrugs. "I mean, I'm not mad, no need for a sorry in that regard," Richie explains, eyes landing on Bill Denbrough. The auburn haired student looks awkward as ever and they both know why. They were friends for a short time in middle school because Bill dated Beverly for a few short months. It didn't last long and the break up was mutual. Nothing had been exactly awkward between everyone until high school when Bill drifted off to become one of the more popular kids after joining the baseball team. It caused a sort of rift between Bill and Richie, where as Stan and Beverly, as hurt as they were, just moved along. The last time the two boys talked had been at graduation when they accidentally ran into one another. Now, almost two years later, Richie is walking in on his former friend and current dorm mate fucking. Things are definitely awkward. "Bill," Richie says, putting on a smile that lacked any emotion.

Bill shifts awkwardly, lifting a hand for a second. "R-Richie."

Mike looks between the two with a frown. "Do... Do you two know each other?" He asks slowly, uncertain whether or not he can ask.

"Yeah, we d-d-do," Bill answers.

"Big Bill here dated my best friend, Bev, in middle school," Richie explains. "They broke up quick, and Bill stayed our friend for a bit. Then he fucked off in freshman year to be with the popular kids, leaving his only friends behind, not bothering to stand up for any of us the following years when his so-called new friends picked on us." Richie doesn't mean for it to come out: bitter filled. He doesn't even realize that he's still mad at Bill for what he did until the words leave his mouth.

Bill frowns. "Richie," he starts but doesn't continue, unsure of what to say.

Richie waves a hand and backs up. "Yeah, yeah. Whatever. Don't care at the moment," he says. Then, he's walking out to let them have a bit more privacy to get dressed.

Just a couple minutes later, Bill is walking out. Thankfully, the guy is dressed. The only indication that he had been messing around with Mike is sec hair and a hickey right under his jaw. He stops and looks at Richie who is leaning against the wall opposite of the dorm’s door. “Have a g-good night, Rich.”

Richie grunts and pushed himself off of the wall. “Ditto, I guess,” he says. He walks bun Bill and into his room, and shuts the door. He looks to Mike who is sitting on his bed with sweatpants and socks, no shirt. “Genuinely sorry for stopping your good time, Mike.”

Mike shrugs. “It’s fine. Look, if I knew you and Bill-.”

“Dude, You can fuck him or date him or whatever with him, I don’t care,” Richie interrupts as he jumps on his bed, laying on his stomach. He turns his head to look at Mike. “It’s your life. Didn’t even realize I was still mad at him until now, and we’re just dorm mates.”

“Yeah, but it’ll still be awkward.”

“Not if you make it awkward. I mean, other than that shit he pulled in high school, he’s a decent guy. Have your fun with him, Mike ‘n’ Ike. So, what, are you dating? Just hook ups? Give me the details, lover boy!”

Mike laughs and shakes his head. “Just hook ups from time to time. But we are friends, so we hang out too – mostly with his other friends, or guys from the baseball or football teams.”

“Oooh, friends with benefits! Life imitating art!”

“So what about you? Any cute girls or guys?” Mike asks as he gets off the bed. He grabs his phone from the floor and checks his messages as he walks to his closet, pulling out a pack of beer. He gets one for himself and one for Richie, handing it to him after opening both.

Richie sits up, criss cross apple sauce, and takes a sip. “Nope,” he sighs. Then he perks up. “But there was this cute dude at Stan’s – you know Stan, right, he stopped by a few weeks ago when we were watching Snapped-.”

“Yes, I know Stan,” Mike chuckles.

“Right. Yeah. Okay, so I was at Stan’s work earlier after leaving mine. He was on break so we sat for a bit and talked when all of a sudden my eyes land on the cutest ass in the world. On the short side. Brunet. Wish I could say something about his face but his back was to me, but I can’t complain too much. Stan saw too, but was focused on the girl Cute Ass was talkin’ to; said he fell in love or whatever. Then they, like, disappeared into the growing crowd.” Richie gives a disappointed look and takes a sip of the beer.

Mike winces sympathetically. “Nothing more disappointing than a cutie getting away.”

“There’s also this guy at my work who’s in the file room but I dunno his name, or what he looks like, so I can’t say much about him, but I want to meet him just so I can see if he’s as cute in person as he is in my mind.”

A laugh tumbles out of Mike. “You need to get laid, man. Or – fall in love.” He waggles his eyebrows, laughing more at Richie’s reaction.

Richie makes a face. “The day I fall in love is the day pigs fly.”

It isn’t that Richie is opposed to falling in love – the more time he’s around his engaged friends, the more he wants that for himself. Rather, it’s just that he’s a bit scared to, if he’s being completely honest. He doesn’t want his heart to get shattered into a million pieces like it did in sophomore year. Actually, it more like a hundred pieces, because he wasn’t completely in love back then, but he did get a taste of it, and it was wonderful until everything came crashing down. Since then he’s relied on a few months long relationships and hook ups from time to time, not getting too emotionally attached to any of them.

The rest of the night is filled with the two boys neglecting school work that was slowly starting to pile up as they watch a true crime show, sipping on their beers and talking every once in a while. They drop the topics of relationships and love, and move on to ones about the crazy murders, episode after episode, until one in the morning when they went to bed.

Only, an hour later, Richie sits up in the dark. “Wait, Bill doesn’t even go here!”

Mike groans. “How d’you ‘ven know tha’,” he slurs out the question, his mind too plagued with sleep to utter the words correctly.

“Snapchat. The Uni across town’s. He’s been on there multiple times. Holy shit, this is like some Romeo and Juliet shit, our schools are rivals!”

“Stan goes there.”

“Yeah but that’s different. We’ve been friends since childhood. You didn’t go to our high school either, so-.”

“Go t’sleep, Richard.”

Richie lays back down, muttering a few ‘okay’s to appease Mike. Then, “...I ship it.”

#reddie #it #richie tozier #eddie kaspbrak #the losers club #my writing #* #this fast updating won't stay so enjoy while u can #it (2017) #it chapter two

[the-goddess-of-change]

mother of the bride

it was a sunny summer day, well, late summer, it was the end of August but the sun still shone i was down at the beach with a couple of friends, cracking open a few cold ones as we sat there in a bit secluded area away from the rest of the people we were all here, well..all and all....me and three other friends it was me...John, im 23 and  your typical kinda guy, average at most my friend Tim, he was 24 and the athletic kinda bro guy of the group, always cracking a beer and still having a fit body for some reason and lastly the lady of the honor, Lynn, who is 24 as well and about to get married in a few days we all made a stupid promise some years ago to meet up here when one of us got married and of course Lynn was the first one to find her true love well...not surprising...she's cute, charismatic and always the life of the party so of course she would find one fast, having blonde hair sure helped as well i chugged my beer as Tim put his arms around me and burps into my ear ''Oh fuck's sake'' He laughs as well as Lynn as i wipe my ear of his beer smelling spit ''that's so fucking nasty Tim'' i say looking at him angrily ''Ah dont be like that bro, we're all having fun you know'' he says and gets me another beer ''Ah well...thanks'' i take the beer and put it in the sand next to me as we look over at Lynn ''So you getting ready to get hitched Lynnie ?'' ''Mhm...i am kinda nervous though...'' ''Ah, dont be, Clyde's an amazing guy, he wont mess with you or mess anything up'' That's right...Tim kinda introduced a friend of his named Clyde to her a couple of years ago, he's an okay guy, he owns a clothing store that's gotten quite famous and is doing well for himself ''i know and i love him, im just nervous for the wedding its just so much to do...but hopefully we'll be done soon...'' ''you have the church and such all ready ?'' ''Oh yeah, of course, all that is done with, its just the people whose coming'' ''whats wrong with them'' i ask looking at her ''i just hope all get along that's all'' Tim laughs and finishes his beer ''Of course they will, we are all there for you stupid, its gonna be smooth as hell'' Lynn smiles as she stands up and looks out over the water ''Yeah...Yeah it will'' she smiles as she turns back to us and raises her beer ''To our future then guys'' ''To our future!'' me and Tim shout as we all chug our beers and put on some summer music as we keep on talking and hanging out I think...like three hours later, time kinda flew by i stand up and walks over to some bushes in the back and throws up as my head is just a huge mess after all the drinking ''Ah i fucking knew it! you lost John'' i flip him off while i finish my business and walk back wiping my mouth with my hands ''Fine fine...i threw up first'' They all laugh as they get up and struggles to stand as well ''i think we should head back home and get some food and some rest...'' Lynn says being the voice of reason as always, we all nod as we head to our homes i dont live really far away so i say my goodbyes and head on inside and get myself some glass and water then some more and some more yet again and walk out to the living room and sit down on my chair and close my eyes as my head is spinning back and forth i dont really remember much after that...i wake up in my bed the next day to the sun shining trough my windows and some seagulls making noises outside i yawn and rub my eyes as i thank the stars i dont feel any hungover from yesterday ''Slept trough the whole day...gotta make some food'' i say to myself and head to the kitchen and look in the fridge for some food but find nothing so i just make some toast instead and pour myself a glass of coke the toast finishes warming up as i take them out of the toaster and start eating some food as i check my phone and find a message from Lynn i look at it and read it ''Hey John! Thanks for yesterday, im glad we kept the promise we made together, i hope you're feeling well and if you want call me up when you wake up and well take a trip to the mall, i just gotta get something so it wont take long!'' ''Huh...ill call her after ill eat up'' i check the clock as well on the phone and see it says 12.30 and the message was sent 1 hour ago so she probably hasn't gone yet i finish up my food and call her up it rings for a bit as she picks up ''Oh, Hey John, what's up?'' ''Nothing, just made some food and saw your message'' ''Oh, yeah ? what did you eat?'' ''Toast...'' ''Oh, nice! i did that as well! that is awesome!'' ''Yeah...sure? but you needed to go the mall ?'' ''oh, yeah, i'm all ready now but can you pick me up in like 30 minutes ?'' ''Yeah, that's fine, gotta fix myself up a bit as well so see you then'' ''great, see you soon'' she says and hangs up as i head to the bathroom and brush my teeth as well as splash some water on my face and fix my hair a bit i finish up in the bathroom and head to the bedroom and put on a pair of jeans and a black shirt and walk back to the living room to grab my wallet and keys i lock the door behind me as i leave my home and walk over to the car and get inside and puts on some music as i just drive around a bit til its time to pick up Lynn After driving around for about 30 minutes i stop by her house and texts her that im outside as she waves at me from the windows and walks outside wearing a long skirt and a red floral top she walks over and gets inside and smiles at me ''Thanks for joining me, i asked Clyde if he wanted to come but he said no and Tim was busy'' ''Oh, dont worry about it, i need some stuff over there as well'' ''Oh, great!'' she smiles and hooks up her music into the car ''i drive, i decide the music, thats the rules'' ''Well im getting married soon so i get privilege'' i shrug at the statement and just drives us over to the mall and park the car as close as possible as we head inside as we step inside we find it kinda desolate, not many people around but the soft cold breeze is welcome ''So where first?'' ''like you need to ask'' she says and heads over to a coffee shop and gets her regular coffee and me one as well'' ''Thanks'' i say and sip it ''No worries, its the rule, driver gets a coffee right?'' i smile and nod ''true that'' She smiles and heads over to clothing shop and walk inside ''you need to get clothes now ?'' ''Noo, just browsing but nothing i want here'' she says and just walks out with me behind her ''So...do you actually need something here or just wanted to relax a bit away from the stress at home ?'' She turns around and looks at me and pokes my head ''I guess, Clyde is running around being on the phone all day and i just wanted to give him some space since he said it was fine'' ''Shouldn't you both be planning it?'' ''Yeah but i got the church, the locales, the food, the invitations and the music, all he has to do is check with the bank about the loan and some other stuff'' I nod at her as keep on walking trough the mall gazing at the stores we walk past as Lynn walks a bit faster and heads into a store i follow her and walk inside as i hear some sorta creepy kinda low music inside ''You always go in here...'' i tell her as she smiles at me ''Mhm! i always get one of these'' she says and walk over and gets a mystery bag next to the counter ''Get one as well silly'' i shrug as i walk over and looks at the bags, it just says the prices on them from 10-25-50-100 A man walks out from the door behind the counter and smiles at us ''Welcome back Lynn'' he says and smiles at her ''Hey Allan, ill have this one today'' she says and puts the 50 dollar bag on the counter and urges me to pick one as well i sigh and get the 100 dollar one for funsies ''Oh, very well then, but be careful, whats inside them even i dont know, and these all powerful magic objects'' he grins as we just pay for our stuff and leave the store Lynn smiles at me ''i love that little store, its so cute'' ''it brands itself as selling occult stuff...'' ''Well yeah but its just silly fun and i love that kinda stuff, remember my goth phase at school when we were younger and all'' ''i do remember that...'' ''i just got kinda into it then and since then its always been a kinda silly fun thing i do and you even bought one!'' ''i did yeah...'' She nods at me as she picks up her cellphone as someone is calling her i walk over to a bench and sit down as i watch her walking around talking on her phone After talking for about 5 minutes she hangs up and walks over to me ''i gotta go home now, my mom is visiting so i gotta talk to her'' ''Oh ? okay then, ill drive you home'' she smiles at me as we head over to the car and i drop her off at her house, she gives me a hug then walks out and walks inside her house as i drive home to my own house and walk inside and put the bag i bought on the table and sigh deeply as i look at it ''100 dollar...what was i thinking but this better be good...'' i say and open the bag and gently lay out the items on the table first there are a few packets of tea powder...some crystals...a weird looking demon skull which is kinda neat and and a small note inside it ''Your next kiss might come as a suprise but do not worry, your lives are intertwined ''that was...boring...'' ''Well...i guess that works so i paid 100 dollars for nothing'' i turn on the tv and starts watching whatever is on After watching tv for some hours i get a call from Lynn i pick up the phone and answer ''Hey Lynn'' ''Oh thank you, look John, can you do me a favor?'' ''Yeah i guess, what do you need ?'' ''i was just wondering if you can drive my mom home...we all had some wine so we cant really drive...'' ''Ah...i mean i guess when do you need me to be there ?'' ''Can you come as soon as possible ?'' ''yeah ill drive over now, see you in 10'' i hang up as i get the keys then get in the car and drive over as Lynn's mother, Cynthia is waiting outside me for me, she gets in the car and smiles ''Thank you so much John...i dont really want to pay for a taxi'' ''It's no worries Cynthia, ill drive you home'' she smiles at me as i drive her home to her house ''There we go'' ''Thank you so much John'' she says and kisses my cheek as she walks out of the car and head inside as i drive back home and check the time ''22.00....i should get some sleep'' i say as i yawn and brush my teeth and head over to the bed and lie down on it as i pull the blanket over me and slowly drift into sleep i start to dream where i find myself back on the beach again, but its now later in the day as the sun is still barely shining i walk around the beach as i see something in the distance i walk over as i see people and an altar and i spot Lynn standing there in the wedding dress she showed me and Clyde next to her in a snazzy suit looking really damn classy i just stand behind them as no one notice as someone walks up to me and tap my shoulder i turn around and look at the person as i see it's Cynthia ''Oh, hey Cynthia'' ''wait ? why arent you up there ?'' ''Oh please, i dont have time for that'' she says and takes me hand and drags me with her to a more secluded place as she starts making out with me ''is this really happening?'' i say to her as she stops kissing me and she smiles at me and gently removes her dress ''isn't this...what you want ?'' ''N-no... i mean, you're beautiful and all but damn...'' ''Oh dont be like that...'' she puts her finger over my mouth as she takes my other hand and gently forces it towards her breasts as i try to pull back i cant for some reason as i touch it ''Just like that yeah'' she says smiling at me as i just say fuck it since its a dream and we start making out again after making out for a while i wake up and to the sound of rain hitting my window ''oh fuck...well...meh'' ''the best part was coming and all'' i yawn and rub my eyes as i get out of bed and walk over to the bathroom and take a piss then wash my face and brush my teeth and head over to the kitchen and start preparing some breakfast Yet as i sit down to eat i feel a strange feeling all over my body a sorta...feeling like you get when you're dizzy i rub my eyes and take a deep breath and close my eyes and open them back up as i head over to the bathroom and splash some water on my face yet the water does nothing as i feel more and more dizzy as i quickly walk over to my bedroom and lie back on the bed and close my eyes as i start to see something i see...Cynthia yet again, just standing there looking at me...smiling as she vanishes and i open my eyes again and rub my eyes as i feel something strange against my eyes i look at my hands and notice something rather strange my nails looks longer and weirdly beige... as i look yet again i can see my fingers looking longer...more petite and slender and..the skin is kinda softer... ''the shit...?''i say and get up and walk to the bathroom and splash some water on my face and yawn ''fuck...what the hell...'' standing there splashing even more water on my face i see something across my hands now i have never really gone into exercising a lot, i do train at home and keep in shape but this looked...weird my arms were slender and longer and all the hair was gone on both my arms, not a trace left as i looked at my slender hands i saw my shoulders in the mirror getting smaller and matching the shape of my hands a lot more my broad shoulders faded in turning smaller and more proportionate to my arms ''okay okay...this is not...normal or like a sickness...'' i walk over and sit down on the toilet as i feel my legs cramping up ''Ahhh!!!'' i remove my pants and look down as the hair on my legs starts to fall down on the floor, my feet get smaller and smaller as i go from a size 41 to a size 36 it creeps up my legs as they turn smaller...yet again more petite and my thighs turns wider as well i stand back up as the pain goes away and notice i feel shorter than before ''Ahh...shit, whats going on...'' i say in confusion as i run my hands across my back as i notice my butt feels more...plump...bigger and rounder i turn around and look down as i see my ass looking more...feminine.... a lot more feminine, like the kind that shows of good when wearing some tight jeans... ''what the....shit...?'' ''i'm smaller and my ass is bigger...what is going on here...?'' i look around my medicine cabinet struggling to reach the top to see if i accidentally took some kinda wrong medicine there but there is nothing bad in there ''Nothing theee-...'' i struggle to say the rest as it feels like someone knocked the air out of me, like i was punched right in the stomach i gasp for air as i remove my shirt who feels to damn hot for me and look down at my stomach to see my stomach is now flat and...i have a waist...like a hourglass waist ''Ahh...ahhh...ahh...'' i gasp more for air as it slowly returns to me as i head over to my bedroom and open the window to let some air in ''okay okay okay...fuck, something is totally wrong here...'' i slowly stick my head out of the window and take a few deep breaths ''okay okay..that felt..good at least...'' i close the window as i start to feel cold and walk back to the bathroom as i feel something else... all over my face now, the pain...my bones...i touch my face as i can feel the bones moving around there, it cracks and moves around as i feel it moving around on my hands but..i dont feel any pain from it...i can just feel it changing...and moving around somehow..yet that's not even it...as i hold my hands to my face i can feel hair brushing against my hand i usually...dont have long hair, i had a few years ago but not this long i drag some hair in front of my eyes as i can see its blonde...and even longer than before i dont know where it stops but id guess below my shoulders at least that's where it stops when it finishes so i find out then ''okay okay...i got blonde hair...that makes no sense...'' i struggle to walk over to the bathroom wearing just my shorts i feel something inside me like something is different...i cant tell what but...i just feel it inside there as i walk over i feel this...its like i just finished myself off...my body shakes and i feel...horny... i look around the room then down at my bare chest as i see my chest getting bigger my nipples grows larger and my breasts grows larger as well as they start to form and growing larger forming to perfectly round breasts i look down in horror but as soon as that finishes i feel something...that i cannot describe waves of pleasure hits my body over and over again a sensation of warm gentle waves hitting me over and over my shorts falls down on the floor as i kick them away and i panic as i look at my hands and wrap them around my breasts and look down as i see nothing down there...nothing at all there is nothing there...nothing between my legs except...something else and its warm...and just by feeling that i already know what it is ''H-holy...shiiiiiitttt'' i say as i hear my voice has changed and i reach the bathroom and look at myself and see...the last woman i saw Cynthia is looking back at me, moving as i do...i touch my hair and the mirror does the same ''im...im...'' i hear my voice but im still in shock as i stand there in my fear i hear my door open and someone walking inside i quickly without thinking run to my bed and wrap the blanket around myself and walk out to see...Cynthia standing there, as she spots me, she looks...shocked i open my voice to talk but nothing comes out as we just look at each other as Cynthia slowly walks over and looks at me ''oh my goddness...it..it..its true..''' i look at her with shock and confusion ''M-my dream...it was...but that means..that i...you...John'' she tries to finish her sentence as she just looks at me almost like she is frozen in time i get my hand out of my blanket and touch her as she just vanishes right there in front me, her clothes fall down on the floor and i feel like something flowing into me a gust of wind blows against me as i feel like something happened... i look where Cynthia once stood and just find her dress lying on the floor as i hear something ''J-John, if you can hear me please say yes...'' i look around but can't see anyone else around ''Hello...? Cynthia?'' i say out loud as the voice returns ''okay...okay...now listen to me and dont question anything because just as me, im sure you have no idea whats going on but...let me tell you...'' I nod as hold the blanket tightly around me ''First...okay..im...im kinda inside you...like...im speaking to you...i dont know why you turned into me but last night i had this strange dream...it made no sense'' ''i was in this...i dont know, strange room where someone was speaking to me...they told me -You kissed him, you cursed him, you and him are now together forever...- it said...'' ''i didn't understand but i woke up and i felt...weird...and i remembered my dream and came here as fast as i could...'' ''But but...what ? why ?'' ''i dont know...But...we are together forever for now...i will be here...and you will be...me...'' ''Be...you ? i..i dont...'' ''you think i know ? i dont know what's going on, right now i cant tell you where i am...im seeing the same as you but...i cant move my arms or anything...'' i move my arm as i normally would feeling nothing different apart from you know...all this ''i dont know what is going on but you can't...i dont...just, its going to be okay ?'' ''is it ?! i turned into you! i am a woman! i'm you! and i'm i'm...'' ''Dont even say it, i'm not old'' ''Well...you know compared to me...'' ''Compared to me?'' ''Compared to me!'' ''You are me now, i know it makes no sense as i've said but this is just how it is...'' ''Well, there has to be some way to get back...'' ''.....'' ''Well....?'' ''...i dont know...i dont think so but...please just take it easy for now...'' ''Take it easy...? How ?'' ''Well first of all...check behind your door'' i walk over and open the door as i spot a bag outside of it, i pick it up and walk inside with it and look inside to see something i see some keys, a wallet, and a bunch of clothes ''This is my wallet with my I.D and the keys to my home and clothes because you need to get dressed and...tell Lynn....'' ''...fuck...'' i sigh as i look into the bag and get out some jeans, a top and some...rather sexy underwear ''ill help you trough it...just please...we got no choice! i dont even know if we can turn back so...'' ''What ?'' i say feeling my heart kinda sink down as i carry the bag to my room i put the clothes on the bed and remove my blanket and look down at my naked body Not even thinking clearly i spot my reflection in my wardrobe i left open as the i see my whole body mirror image in it ''.....'' ''What...? dont look at...well...uhm...what...what do you think ?'' ''You're asking what i think of your naked body?'' ''Well...our naked body but yes..'' ''...it looks pretty nice...'' ''Thanks'' she says as i feel kinda warm but i quickly move away and put on some clothes, first the underwear then secondly the bra, then the jeans and last the top as i see the top of my breasts from the top ''There we go...dressed for now...'' i nod slowly as i head over to the mirror again and look at the reflection ''Are you admiring it or ?'' ''Well...Cynthia...you did look amazing...even before....'' ''And now?'' ''Still looks good...'' ''i never took you for a milf John'' ''I'm not but...now i am one...damn...fuck!'' i shake my head and sigh as i head over to the kitchen feeling my breasts jiggle as i do ''Now we have to call Lynn...'' ''Damn it...this is not gonna make any sense...'' ''We have to...we can't keep it hidden...?'' ''Well her wedding is tomorrow...she is going to freak out...'' ''i guess so...but im still her mother and i was always honest with her and she will understand...so please...for me?'' ''Fine cynthia...or...yeah..'' i walk over and pick up the phone as i take a deep sigh and call lynn ''Hey John'' she says as i take a deep breath ''Uhm...this is cynthia it is kinda weird but i had to pick up something over at John and im using his phone but could you come over here ? i kinda want to invite you out..?'' ''Oh...okay...uhm...okay mommy, ill be there in 10 minutes'' she says and hangs up ''You'e gonna tell me exactly what to say...'' ''i know and i will...'' 10 minutes pass and Lynn knocks on the door as i let here inside ''Hey mom' 'she smiles and hugs me as i feel our breasts push together ''H-Hey Lynnie'' ''So...what are you doing here?'' ''Well...uhm lets sit down and i will tell you'' ''Tell her not to panic...'' ''Do not panic or like freak out but...this is going to make no sense...but...im John...'' Lynn looks at me weirdly ''What ?'' ''i'll try to explain but...i think its because of what happened at the store...i bought the bag that had some things in it'' i point at the table as Lynn picks up the note and reads it ''You kissed John ?'' ''N-no...Cynthia kissed me on the cheek as a thanks for driving her home...you know she has done that a lot before... Lynn nods slowly as she knew Cynthia had been kissing my cheek before as we were good friends and knew each other ''i didnt know or did she but she had a weird dream last night then came here...then she just vanished as i had turned into her but...she is not gone...she is still here inside me i guess...?'' ''okay if that is true, prove it....cuz this is insane'' ''okay, tell her that when she was 1 year old, she had a special pluhsie, a white rabbit that she kept til she turned 16 when she gave it away to her cousin'' ''okay, cynthia told me to tell you about your rabbit plushie you got when you were 1 year old and then at 16 you gave it to your cousin...'' Lynn stands up and looks at me ''Holy...so...mom is with...you John ?'' i nod slowly as she looks at me ''Then you turned into her...and she is inside you ?'' i nod at her as she walks over to me and looks at me ''Soo...you turned into my mom ?'' ''Yeah..'' ''But how do i know you're not teasing me mom?'' ''Easy, we got drunk at the beach and i puked first since we had a promise to meet up there'' ''oh my god...this is just...oh my god...i dont know what to do...'' ''you think i do ?! i turned into Cynthia, your mom!'' Lynn looks at me ''yeah ? and how does it feel being an old woman ?'' ''Old im not old'' Cynthia says to me ''I'm not old...im 48! and it feels...weird'' ''i guess you'd say that, how does these feel'' she says and pokes my breasts as i stand up and look at her ''Dont do that...and it feels weird...its like being poking on something soft'' ''Yeah well now you know how i felt when you did it to tease me'' ''Fair enough...but look...i dont know what to do...i dont even know if i can change back!'' ''oh, ill call Allan and talk to him then'' ''Yeah, do that please!'' Lynn nods and calls up Allan and explains it to him as she just says yes a lot and nodding to herself she finishes the call and looks over at me ''okay so...Allan said...uhm...that this havent happened before and he thought i was joking but...he just sells the stuff, he dont make them...so who knows...so ill call this number he gave me instead I nod as she calls it up and waits for reply and as they answer she explains the situation again The same happens, she just says yes a lot after that she ends the call after some minutes and looks over at me and tilt her head slightly ''okay so...uhm...i talked to someone there and they said...well...'' ''Yeah ?'' ''Well, they dont write notes and put it in the bag...they said someone else did it and had no idea what im talking about'' ''So...they dont know ?'' ''Nope...but...look...john...'' ''Yeah?'' She giggles and walks over to me and hugs me again ''my mom is still there, you just have her body stupid and being a woman isn't really all that different...well i mean...i was never a guy...but'' ''Yeah...? where are you going with this?'' ''Well...just that...i dont know, try have fun ? i know you look like my mom and all but my mom is inside you so i can talk to her as well and it wont be...weird...'' ''Won't be weird ? you know i used to be John right?'' ''Yeah but then we just...live with, like you told me'' ''.....fair enough...'' ''And look and i will be serious here, we will probably never find out what happened or like why, the note i guess but that just explains something, but you're Cynthia now, and probably til you die so just go on, mom is inside you and will help you'' I nod slowly as i realize she is right, i probably wont ever go back...or ever find out more on what happened...i dont really like it but...it could be worse... i stand up and sigh as i feel something weird ''Uhm...bathroom Cynthia'' i hear Cynthia tell me as i look at Lynn ''Excuse me then...'' i say and head into the bathroom and sit down and feel weird as i pee...as a girl for the first time ever....but it does feel better than doing it as a guy...weirdly enough... i flush and walk back out as Lynn giggles at me ''Soooo ? how was it ?'' ''Peeing as a girl ?'' ''oh god...shut up'' ''I wanna know, come on'' ''Felt better...'' i say slowly'' Lynn smiles at me and nods ''Okay then, look...uhm...like i gotta go home and prepare but...please come to the wedding tomorrow ? mommy will help you trough it...Cynthia'' she smiles and hugs me tightly as she waves goodbye and leave as i sit down on my chair and sigh ''She's right...i cant miss the wedding...'' ''Thank you...it means a lot to me to my daughter on her day...'' ''Yeah...but Cynthia...can i call you something else then since im you now ?'' ''Sure, what did you have in mind?'' ''i dont know...'' ''okay, call me...Laura then'' ''Laura ? okay'' ''So...do i gotta like do something today ?'' ''No, just get up early and get your hair and make-up done, you have the dress so and i put some high heels in the bag as well....i know its going to be hard to walk on them but we practice now and my body has been using them a lot so it should come easily'' ''And Cynthia ?'' ''Yeah ?'' ''You're me now...and remember i've always been a woman so...act like me and be more...in touch with your feminine side'' I sigh but nods slowly as i head up to the bedroom and look in the bag and get out some high heels and slowly put them on and try walking around as i put them on and walk it does feel weird but like Laura said, the muscle instincts kicks in and i walk around them pretty well ''Very good and remember to sway your butt a bit'' i does as i say as we keep doing that for a while as i walk over and make some food while Laura teaches me how to prepare my food better, i finish up eating as i yawn and head to bed i take of my clothes and lie down in my underwear as i just wrap the blankets around me and just wanna drift away into my own dreamworld...just for a bit As i fall asleep and start dreaming i find myself in a large garden i walk over to a pond that appears in the middle of the garden and look at my reflection but im still...Cynthia but as i hear that someone calls my name i turn around and look at someone who looks a lot like Cynthia except she has black hair instead of blonde like me...like me... ''Laura ?'' i say without thinking as she nods and walks over to me and hugs me ''I guess our dreams are connected somehow'' ''Yeah...this is weird'' ''it really is...but im glad to kinda...not be in that place all the time'' ''what place is it ? where are you?'' ''i dont know, i see trough your eyes but i cant move or anything...so i guess just inside you..i feel what you do and so on..'' i nod at her as she smiles and pokes my cheek and my casual clothing turns into the black dress she had on her when she came to me ''it looks good...'' i look at my reflection in the water and nod ''it does look...nice yes'' ''im glad you're not angry or anything i guess we are both...angry for what happened but...neither of us knew...'' I nod at her ''But...this is usually what you dream about ? walking around this garden?'' ''Not really...it just appeared...'' ''okay'' she says as we just kinda start walking around the garden as more stuff appears in front of us ''So...how do you feel about going to the wedding tomorrow ?'' ''i dont care...its Lynn's day...i have to be there for her...and if i go as you...that's fine as well'' Laura smiles at me ''Thank you'' ''After i lost my husband i kinda...felt like everything fell apart for me...but Lynnie was always there for me and cheered me up and together we came trough it together'' i nod at her ''But that was...20 years ago...and while she was just a child...she made it bearable'' I nod at her again while we keep on walking ''But...thats in the past now...we move forward...'' ''Yeah...i guess we do'' i say as the world vanishes and i wake back up in my bed i rub my eyes and yawns as i look around the room and see nothing has changed there but i can feel my body is still Cynthia's i sigh and get out of bed as Laura tells me to just put on the dress and the heels and i do as told i get ready and eat some breakfast as its time to get the pre-wedding events done, luckily all can be done at the hair stylist, so i drive over there to meet a woman who fixed my hair and applies some make-up on me, making me kinda question how beautiful one can actually get... ''you like it...'' Laura says as i just give her a quick nod as the woman finishes up and smiles i pay her and we say our goodbyes as we have one more stop which is laura's home she leads me to her bedroom and helps me put on some jewelry as we finally head to the church ''Before we sit down i want to talk with Lynn...'' ''Yeah...lets find her'' i ask the priest who leads me to where she is i find lynn sitting on a chair wearing her beautiful wedding dress and her hair in a cute bun ''Mommy!'' she says and runs over to me but quickly stops and calms down but still hugs me ''Thanks for coming...im so nervous...'' ''Want me to talk to you...or your mom ?'' ''You are my mom...'' she smiles weakly as i sigh weakly and nod at her ''Dont be nervous Lynn...you look...amazing...like honestly...i can feel...your mother crying inside me at the sight of you...'' ''R-Really ?'' ''She and i are proud of you...and it will be fine..and...im here as your mom today...not someone else, okay ?'' Lynn smiles at me as we hug each other yet again ''you know what to do mom'' she says and smiles weakly as i nod and listen to Laura's explanations my job is to walk up to the altar next to Clydes mother as we stand next to the bridesmaids... i take a deep breath as first the maides walks up, then the flower child then us, we walk up towards them each holding a candle of unity as we stand next to our families as the wedding bells rings i look over at Clyde standing there in the suit smiling at me as i spot her, the door slowly opens as Lynn walks up to the altar they each tell their vows and kiss each other as i feel Laura crying tears of joy as i do as well... They finish the kiss and walks slowly out as the music plays, people stand outside and throws rice at them and they get in a car and drive to the engagement party and we soon follow then we reach the area, a huge mansion with a large garden filled with white wedding flowers and decorated with their names on the banners i walk inside the mansion and find my seat right next to Lynn and we sit down as Lynn walks inside wearing her wedding dress and walks up to me ''....so...'' she looks at me and noticed my make-up has run a bit and i see a tear roll down her cheek as well ''...oh my god...'' she runs over to me and hugs me tightly as i do the same to her as a photographer takes a picture of us ''Thank you mom...i love you...thank you so much...im so glad you're here...'' ''Of course i would be here...'' i say hearing my voice crack as it does....both me and Laura can feel our tears rolling but...seeing her like this, feeling this feeling...seeing her happiness is just...its all...indescribable i did feel...proud but not for a friend but something kinda deeper...i guess laura was kinda helping with that but still... As we hug each other Clyde walks over and smiles at us ''Thank you Cynthia'' he says as i smile and just hug him ''i know you will treat her right Clyde'' he smiles and nods as we all sit down on our places and food arrives as we start to eat, i look over at Lynn who smiles and enjoys her dinner she's smiling and talking to the people next to her as i just look at her beauty... ''She's beautiful right ?'' ''Yeah..'' ''so are we Cynthia'' ''I..i know we look good but...what can i say to that?'' ''Yes ?'' ''Yes then i guess'' i smile weakly we finish up our food as people start to drink wine and champagne and enjoy themselves, i look over at Lynn who raises her glass at me and smiles as we both take a sip together i mingle with the other guests and have a pretty decent time as i find Lynn talking with Tim, i slowly walk over and listen in ''That fucking dick couldn't even come for some stupid cold ?'' ''that is so fucking weak'' ''....its okay Tim, he said he didnt want to make anyone else sick...'' ''yeah but god damn...he ditched ya on your wedding day, that is just and sorry but fucking weak'' Lynn sighs and notices me and looks down a bit but then smiles up at me ''its fine, okay Tim ? i said its fine and he's with us here in our hearts, okay ?'' ''that's optimism bs but okay...well...congrats Lynn'' Lynn just nods and walks away softly to talk to some other guests The night goes on and i have a pretty good time altogether as Lynn thanks the guests for coming and walk over to me once everyone is gone i look at her as she looks at me ''So...what did you think ?'' ''it was perfect'' ''Thanks mom...its going to be weird to say that now but...i dont mind, you were always my friend...and now you are...closer in a sense...'' she smiles and kisses my lips and giggles as she walks away ''oh my...'' ''yeah...that came out of nowhere...'' ''it did...didnt know she was such a good kisser'' i can feel Laura laughing i think about the kiss as i sit on with a couple as they drop of my home as i walk inside i yawn tiredly and head to the bathroom and brush my teeth after that ordeal is over i head over to the bedroom and take of my dress and carefully lie it over a chair and look out the window ''Hey Cynthia ?'' ''Yeah ?'' ''...you feel more content...more relaxed'' ''...yeah..seeing lynn happy like that made me kinda relax...she looked happy and had fun'' ''Did you have fun ?'' ''i did'' ''me to'' i smile as i yawn and lie down in bed ''Tomorrow we can sleep at my home...you can actually sell this place...'' ''i've been thinking that...saves the money and we have everything at your home...'' ''We ?'' ''Yeah..we'' ''Well, see you soon then Cynthia'' Laura says as i drift into sleep yet again This time i dont find myself in the Garden anymore but this time in a city landscape instead the streets are all empty and the skies are just a blank and blue as laura appears next to me ''Oh, Hey Cynthia'' she smiles at me as i smile back at her ''Hey Laura'' ''Where are we ?'' i ask and look at her ''not sure...i guess just some city we made up together'' laura says looking around as people start to appear one by one ''But if this is our dreams ? why aren't you...you know ? John?'' ''Because ill wake up and wont be anymore so its no point...i'm getting used to it sure but...it is still something that is going to take some time'' Laura nods and we start walking up the street ''This is kinda strange but do you feel...?'' ''feel what?'' ''No i mean...this is a dream right ? but im smelling the gass from the cars and...the ground against my feet...'' when she says that i notice she is right, i can actually...feel things inside the dream...i smell all sorts of smells and feel the fabric of my clothes against my body ''This is...how ?'' ''i dont know maybe its one of those things that can't be explained....'' ''like everything the past days ?`'' Laura smiles and nods As we walk trough the city i look at the humans we walk past as Laura pokes me ''Hey...you're staring at the girls...'' ''Yeah...? why is that wrong ?'' ''Nothing but...you're a woman'' ''Right...so i can't do both?'' Laura smiles and shrugs ''i guess you can do whatever you want'' ''well, this is just a dream...'' ''Mhm so since this is a dream and you can feel...is there nothing you have wanted to try out ?'' ''like ? i turned into a woman in real life...?'' ''thats kinda my point...you barely looked at yourself naked...and you said i looked good...and you dont even want to try out the body?'' i turn and look at her kinda shocked ''I..uhm...it never came to mind...'' ''oh please, i know it did..we're together in this'' ''....lets not go there then'' Laura smiles and we keep on walking trough the streets as Laura stops by a store and looks inside as i walk back over to her she looks at a dress, its red and kinda showy off ''Laura?'' She turns to look at me and smiles as she holds my hand and walk into the stores and talks to the woman behind the counter and points at the dress then at me as the woman nods at her ''Come here, i want to try it on you'' ''The dress ? why?'' ''Because its going to look nice on you and this is a dream right ? just go with it'' i shrug and just do as she says and goes with it as we head into a changing room and she helps me put on the dress and looks at my reflection while i would never say it loud....it did look...amazing...it showed off my curves and body perfectly...even...as i was older i still looked...great ''You look gosh darn amazing Cynthia! you should buy it'' ''But none of this is real...'' ''So what ?'' she looks at me sternly ''You're me now, stop trying to...just ignore that, wake up and smile and i will show you something when we wake up'' i sigh at her ''Fine fine Laura'' She smiles as we pay the dress with some money we just made appear We both smile but as soon as we walk out the door i wake up i open my eyes and rubs them as i yawn and gently sit up in bed ''....Morning Laura'' ''Oh...good morning Cynthia...had a good time?'' ''Yeah...it was okay'' i smile as i stretch my body and walk over to my wardrobe and get out some clothes as i notice my reflection once again all i'm wearing is the bra and underwear and nothing else ''so okay, im going to tell you now, okay ?'' ''Hmmm?'' ''Just trust me when i say this'' Laura says ''First you unhook the bra...'' i do as i tell her and unhook the bra as it falls onto the floor as i gaze at my naked breasts ''Then you remove the panties...'' i nod at her as i slide them down my legs ''Then you walk to the bed and close your eyes and think of something...'' ''Are you teaching me to...please myself?'' ''i am teaching you to please us'' i can feel her smiling i sigh and close my eyes as imagine something...i think and think but nothing comes to mind as i feel Laura trying to help me i open my eyes as i can feel my body getting warmer and warmer ''Now touch your breasts with your hand while the other goes between your legs and gentle rub the sides while i help you'' i do as i say as i gently touch my breast with one hand and rub my womanhood with the other hand gently as i feel nice and warm i let out a little moan as Laura keeps on helping me but after a while it just stops working as i stand up and walk over to the wardrobe and positions the mirror so it faces myself and walk back to the bed i look at my own reflection playing with herself as i do the same enjoying it greatly more i look at my reflection and glee with happiness as each time i feel it across my fingers it brings me closer and closer to the climax the waves of pleasure hits me over and over again as i hear Laura She speaks in a soft whispered tone ''You're great...you're a queen Cynthia...i love you...my queen'' ''Ah...yes...'' she keeps on talking to me as i climax yet it dont stop as i keep on going more and more I finish up and gently remove my finger and licks it clean as i feel all tingly and good inside ''oh my god...'' i say to myself ''Y-yeah..that took me a bit...out of it..'' Laura says ''...i know you tried to help but...i like women...i mean...i you know and seeing me...like this...here...it just felt...nice...'' ''No, i understand and if it helps...it was the best i ever had...'' Maybe for the first time i genuinely smile at that statement i get dressed, putting on a cute skirt Laura bright with her and a white top as well and makes myself some breakfast then brush my teeth as i get my phone and checks for something new on it ''Hey...Cynthia?'' ''Yeah?'' ''You're wearing a skirt and you just put it on'' ''Yeah its kinda weird but...looking at myself naked...i felt like i kinda wanted to wear something kinda nice so i could see my legs...'' Laura dont really reply to that as i walk to the living room and sit down on the chair as the phone beep i look over and see its a message from Lynn saying she is on her way ''Lynn is coming over...'' ''Okay, its going to be fine Cynthia'' she says as the doorbell rings as i walk over and let Lynn inside ''Hey mom'' ''Hey Lynn....not tired after your wedding?'' ''No...i'm fine and Clyde is sleeping because he had a bit to much last night'' she giggles and hugs me ''im really glad you came...Mom...you and mommy...'' ''me and mommy?'' ''Yeah, the mom inside you'' ''oh, right'' She smiles and sits down on the sofa and looks at me ''So...was it weird...seeing me like that ? with the wedding gown and all ?'' ''No, you looked amazing Lynn...i was honestly...it was beautiful, honestly'' Lynn smiles at me as i smile back at her ''Hey...you know...it was..weird...and hard to handle, but i know my mom is there and you must be scared as well but...its gonna be okay'' she speaks confidently as i nod back at her ''Yeah, its going to be fine Lynn...its maybe going to take a bit to get used to it all but...of all the people who kissed me...i was glad it was Cynthia...or me..'' ''oh ? tells now honestly why?'' ''I well...your mom is i mean...i am...'' ''Hot and amazing looking for her age and you always had a thing for her?'' ''Fine sure, yes, i did'' ''And now you are her'' ''yeah'' ''Well you make a god mom'' she giggles and looks at me ''well...me and your mommy...i think we get on better and better as she teaches me and i start to kinda...feel more in the role'' ''Meaning?'' ''you calling me mom feels okay for starters'' ''Awww, that is kinda cute in a weird sorta way'' ''You think so?'' ''Yeah, i do Mom'' I smile at her and we end up talking for a few hours just chatting about mostly random stuff and more down to earth stuff as Lynn has to leave ''Hey Mom ? this was pretty great actually...i had a good time'' ''i did as well'' ''Well then...mom, you take care'' she says and kisses my cheek and walk outside as i wave goodbye at her Me and Laura talks for a bit as we decide to go over to her house instead, its much larger than my home and more classy...a lot more classy I look around the house as Laura shows me around and tells me where everything is ''So...i guess this is where we live now ? ill talk to the landlord about moving out from the old house and just kinda live here instead...and its so nice'' ''You think so ? i'm glad you feel that way Cynthia'' I walk around the house as i reach the bedroom and sits down on the bed and looks around, its your typical kinda bedroom, a big double bed, a large wardrobe filled with clothes, a nightstand, a window..and so on i walk over to the wardrobe and look inside and find your typical kinda of clothing, some jeans, tops, shirts, underwear, shoes and lots of dresses ''Okay...wow...you have a lot of clothes...'' ''i guess i do'' Laura says as i can feel her smiling i look inside it some more and spots a rather...actually nice looking dress, its black as the other one but it has a long V-neck instead and a slit down the legs, i gently pull it out as i look at it looking at it i cant argue that it wouldn't look good on me...that's for sure so i decide to...put it on for some reason i take of the skirt and top and gently slide into the dress as i feel it pressing tightly against my skin and walk over to a mirror Laura had placed on a corner in the room probably for the same reason to use it as i am now its a full body mirror and as i walk over to it i gaze at my own reflection in it and feel...content or something it does fit my body perfectly, its just right and it shows of my legs as well as breasts....not to much but enough to make some people turn around and look ''You like it'' Laura says as i nod at her and gently tilt my head a bit and look at my reflection ''i think it looks good on you, sweetie'' Laura says as i feel myself yet again getting warmer as Laura laughs ''and i think i know a little more about you know Cynthia'' i shrug and just find myself enchanted by the look of the dress on me ''Hey Cynthia, it's been a long day...we should make some food'' ''oh...yeah, when you mention it i am feeling hungry'' i walk down to the kitchen and start cooking up some food as Laura helps me prepare the food and i sit down and start eating in the kitchen drinking a glass of red wine as i finish up the food i cooked and put it away i look around some more as i start to feel rather drowsy and check the time seeing that it has already gotten quite late so i decide its a good time to get some sleep i reluctantly take off the dress and brush my teeth as i lie down in my new bed which feels miles better than my old bed and gently drifts of into sleep but this time...it feels different i find myself in just a room with two chairs and a table i gently walk over to the table and run my hands across it and sit down on the chair looking down at the table as Laura appears and sits down next to me i look over at her and see her black hair she had previously is now blonde like mine but shorter she smiles at me at me and i look at her ''you're feeling conflicted?'' she asks me i just shrug at the question as she starts looking over at the table ''i think you should kinda just go with the flow like we have all said Cynthia'' ''i am going with the flow, i went to the wedding, Lynn is taking it well and...i dont know'' ''i don't think that's the reason, you have always had a thing for me Cynthia'' i look over at her ''and now that you are me, you're feeling weird and since im here with you, i think you're holding a bit back'' ''....maybe'' ''Well then dont, i dont want you to just waste my life away...i want you to enjoy it and have some fun, you have lynn see you as me now, and i have some friends as well that you are going to love to meet'' ''So i will help you...we stick together now'' i smile at her while she holds my hands ''it's going to be fine, if you want to enjoy my body more, i will show you the way, if you want to walk around naked, do it, if you want to dress up and going trough my clothes, do it'' ''you think about me, even now you think about me'' ''well...yeah, im talking to you'' ''you know what i mean and it's fine okay ?'' i stand up from the chair and look at her as i sigh then smile at her ''i might take it to far'' ''you wont because im here to keep you in check'' ''Thank you...'' i say as she walks over to me and holds my hands and gives me a tight hug as i feel her body against mine we keep hugging for what seems like forever as i wake up to the sun shining yet again trough my windows i yawn and rub my eyes as i decide to do what Laura told me and...go with the flow for as long as i'm here ill treat...lynn like my daughter and be there for her, ill meet Laura's friends and talk with them i will...live this life to the best i can and...with her help, i think i can do it quite well...since as far as i know...i need to cast away my past and move forward and stop being worried and feeling down i am Cynthia...and i will die as Cynthia At least as far as i know... But i take that when the time comes...for now, ill spend the rest of the day staying home...wearing that black dress and maybe some high heels...and just enjoy the first real day in this new life.

#tg #tf #tgtf #tgstory

[miraculous-nights]

Supervillains

Title: Chapter Four

Summary: Marinette was kidnapped when she was 6 and her cage was next to a boy in a similar situation. Tikki and Plagg renamed them to be Ladybug and Chat Noir, but they still don’t know who their companion really is. Suddenly, they are let loose into the world with no explanation.

Word Count: 3537

Rating: T

Disclaimer: I sadly do not own Miraculous Ladybug or any of it’s characters…

School was boring, it turned out. Marinette studied each night and did everything she needed to do, but it flew by quickly. The class didn’t have school over the summer, but Tikki and Plagg’s tutoring sessions were sporadically every week. No hint of summer except for minimal changes in clothes and tans, or in Plagg’s case sunburns. That meant that their school was way ahead of most people’s schedule.

Marinette’s study sessions each night were partially for studying, but also trying to figure it out. Tikki had visited a week ago, and since then Marinette hadn’t figured out to trigger her supposed powers. She tried magic words, thought out intentions, even a failed attempt at making a magical wand. Nothing helped her in the quest for the unimaginable.

Tonight, she sat in the chair on her balcony simply thinking of what would happen if she did have powers. Would she use them as Tikki instructed? She could make her own ways in life and be herself.

The dusk was pretty. It always was, each night for the past week. She had sat in this chair every night to watch the sunset and practice whatever it is she might possibly believe in one day. Tikki was crazy to keep her in that cage for so long. The tutoring that was going on with Fox was a much better idea. The methods they used were unorthodox, and quite frankly ruined any type of trust between them. But Tikki didn’t have to be trustworthy to teach her about magic.

She sipped on a protein packed smoothie to soothe the hunger that Tikki warned about. Marinette hated that she was right. If Tikki had gone through the same thing when she was her age, she should have had more sympathy. Grumbling, she continued to stare blankly at Paris.

A whisper of air tickled her neck, and she turned. Tikki sat in the other chair, pouring herself a cup of tea out of the plastic set. She smiled at the nonexistent tea before putting it down and looking at Marinette.

“I know you’re struggling with the whole magic thing. Honestly, if you didn’t want me to watch the despair, you should have at least tried the wand inside.” Tikki laughed, but it was detached.

“You were watching? I was alone!”

“No, you were out in the open, somewhere I shouldn’t be right now. Inside, shall we?”

“You are not coming into my house. Not in a million years. My parents will hear and then I’ll be in trouble for having someone over, then I’ll have to explain that you’re my kidnapper who has shown up twice but every time I go to call the police I either don’t have my phone or you disappear,” Marinette said angrily.

“I never knew a Ladybug who so easily fell into that kind of anger. So can I come in? It’s a bit cold up here and I won’t give any answers until I’m warm.”

Marinette crawled into her room and down from her bed. Sulking, she sat on the chaise. Tikki followed, silently.

“I’ll do the talking. Most people don’t understand what or who I am. After more or less becoming Tikki, I lose transparency. Not to you or anyone who knew I was Ladybug or friends and family. Others who don’t know won’t be able to comprehend me by now. I’m a ghost of Ladybug. My Tikki didn’t disappear to me. Not until the day I met you. That was the day I became Tikki, and the day I failed to recognize you as what you were.

“You were the only person who noticed me that day. I would walk through Paris with Plagg and wave to the occasional person. Not a single person waved back, to me or Plagg. I was in the park, and you came up and hugged me. I figured it out when I couldn’t find my dear Tikki. She was gone because I was Tikki now. That was the day your blood began to ready itself for magic. While mine lost the ability to conjure my favorite charms, you began to find new things in odd places. A new doll among the others. A five year old wouldn’t have noticed, but I did because I studied you. I saw the doll appear and your happiness. I began to despise you, taking my power.

“I never came to terms with losing my power, I know you wonder. I watched you for a year, until I accepted you were the next Ladybug and Plagg had become Plagg. We took you both on the same day, but drugged you so you weren’t dealt with for another week. Two six year olds were in our workshop, and that never changed. I became colder, and Plagg became more relaxed. We almost divorced, Plagg thought we were too harsh and I thought that it was worse than it could ever be. I never told him how I felt about your treatment. I only became colder and made him more entangled in my web.

“And you. It was the easiest thing I have done in my life, kidnap a child. Each time I let you notice me, you would just hug me if you were alone. You ran into my arms that day and I simply kept you.”

Marinette thought she would be taught magic, not the reasons behind the nine years of hatred and malice. It lifted something off of Tikki, and Marinette felt anger.

“You kept us in a cage that Chat couldn’t lay down in because you just didn’t like that I got something you didn’t? That isn’t how trust is built. You can teach me magic, but I will never let you be sympathized be me,” Marinette said in a low voice, tears being held back by an expert.

“I have to be clear minded to teach you how to use magic. There is very little magic left in me, and I can only use it to instruct you. It was on my mind, now I can begin. A young user like you could be reading a book, kneading dough, and performing a dance while doing the most difficult spell you knew. Now, there is a reason we call you Ladybug while in that place. Only Ladybug can perform magic, and Marinette is a separated person for good reason.” Tikki adjusted how she sat.

“Why am I two personalities, if only one can do magic?”

“Because if you stayed only Marinette, the magic would have never listened. It would have eaten you from the soul out. Even your appearing doll trick was sapping away control. You wouldn’t like to be sitting in class and stand up to find yourself on the tip of Mount Everest, would you? No, you wouldn’t, especially in those shoes,” Tikki was exasperated, explaining this was hard enough, but to teach the idiot girl all of the magic?

“Fine, but what do I do first, after Ladybug?”

“Yes, you must make the spell. Not quite out of thin air, but out of thin air. You must wish for it from the bottom of your heart, cheesy but functional, and then speak whatever comes out of your mind. The first spell is always different, but there are some which need different words and equal intentions,” Tikki was encouraging her.

Ladybug closed her eyes and thought about what she wanted to do. It took her a moment, but she realized what she wanted to do. Opening her eyes, she focused on the metal dress form. She studied it for another moment, then whispered the first thing she thought of.

“Dress yourself,” she whispered. The fabric next to the form lifted before falling back to the floor. Ladybug frowned as Tikki looked unsurprised.

“Mean it, truly. Dress yourself,” Tikki commanded at the form. The fabric lifted and wrapped itself around the form. It fell down after she lost concentration. “You see, don’t whisper. Tell it, take control. It is your magic and much more powerful than my remains.”

Ladybug sighed before continuing, “Dress yourself, form.” The fabric lifted a bit higher.

This continued for over half an hour. Each time, the fabric would rise and fall at different heights, to Ladybug’s frustration.

“You’re doing the magic, but it’s not a full spell. Try doing something else. If you get a full spell, I’ll leave for tonight and we’ll meet somewhere else because of the fact that Ladybug’s specialized spells involve a lot of shouting,” Tikki said.

“Unfold,” Ladybug simply looked at her nicely made bed. The comforter flew back and bunched at the foot of the bed. Falling on the floor, Ladybug was ready to fall asleep.

“Side effect. Practicing your magic will help you build stamina, but every time you use the Lucky Charm you will be drained in a few minutes. It’s something you have to adjust to. Also I’ll teach you how to not accidentally fall into Ladybug and do unintentional magic in school,” Tikki listed off these things as she climbed up to the trapdoor to the balcony. “Goodbye, whichever girl is there. I’ll see you tomorrow, at the park?”

Marinette was already asleep on the floor. Tikki climbed back down and laid her comforter over her.

Marinette woke up on her floor the next morning, later than when she normally would. Her mother was the person waking her up, and she felt groggy and her neck ached.

“Marinette, why are you on the floor? Get up! School starts in half an hour,” Sabine said. Marinette only caught the last sentence but jumped up from the floor. “You’re still in your clothes from yesterday? Hurry!”

She jumped up and grabbed some clothes before taking her hair down to brush it and put it back up into her pigtails she had adopted. Running through her house, she picked up her backpack and grabbed the first food she found in the kitchen. She went back up to her room to grab her history book.

Passing through the bakery, her father shouted words of encouragement at her for being ready so fast. Luck was on her side, with school only a block away it would be so easy to be there on time. Until a clumsy fall landed her on the ground with her random pastry uneaten and crushed under her. Her white shirt was covered in, maybe apricot jam.

Running back to the store, she grabbed a normal croissant and changed her shirt quickly. Running back down the street, she avoided falling and ran through the school doors. The bell tang halfway up the stairs and she burst into the room a minute after the bell.

“I’m sorry,” she said and slipped to her seat. Alya gave her an extra paper that had been passed out and pointed to the question they were supposed to skip. Marinette quickly flew through the questions and looked at the one they were supposed to skip. She knew the answer, and wrote it anyway.

Looking around, Alya was only halfway done but Adrien was looking around like her. She wondered whether they went the same pace or he was just bored. She guessed the former, from his homeschooling.

Mademoiselle Bustier came up a few minutes later to review the answers to this warm up. She ignored Marinette’s wandering eyes but instructed Adrien to keep his eyes on the board or his paper. Again, she wondered why Adrien could do things as fast as her and let his eyes observe things during teachings. Homeschooling must have been very educational, she decided.

Thinking about homeschooling, Marinette actually forgot to pay attention to the day’s teachings for a while. Blinking a few times, she listened to Mademoiselle Bustier much closer. The teacher noticed her abnormal attentiveness to the lesson and made less of a point to make sure she was truly listening today.

School passed much like her days as Ladybug did. Ladybug would wake up and get herself together and slowly mouth her repeated mantra before Chat woke, but then she would let herself loose time to the lightbulb above them before doing whatever Tikki or Plagg wanted, talked with Chat, or blink until she fell back asleep. Marinette simply sat in a desk and let the time pass and listen, moving and doing whatever her friend or schedule directed her to next.

The best part of the day was always a tie between her lunch with Alya or the park each afternoon. Her parents didn’t exactly enjoy her obsession about the park she was abducted in, but they allowed her to be there for roughly an hour every day. At least they knew Alya wasn’t an obsession.

The lunch that day was very bland, Marinette studying Alya’s notes that she missed from her time in thought. Alya chatted with Nino and Adrien shyly read a book next to him. Chloé came singing Adrien’s name and insulted the other three at the table. After that, Marinette continued studying her notes that were still very vague after she started listening.

The park, that afternoon, was much more interesting. Tikki was waiting where she normally started her route and was smiling at her. Tikki had almost never smiled, even the night before at the first successful attempt at a spell by Ladybug was met with her normal facial expressions.

“Today’s the day! We are going, to maybe a gym a few miles away. We can take the Metro, and if you hold onto my arm or hand. Once nobody who saw you grab onto me initially is out of sight, we will have disappeared completely,” Tikki grinned like a madman as they started walking.

“Why are we going to a gym? What are you smiling for? I’ve probably never seen you smile,” Marinette said as she lightly held on to Tikki’s arm.

“It’s simple. This gym is where we kwamis meet most days. I go there almost every day. At least every other day. So, it’s basically a place for me to teach you magic with no limits. You can’t do the spells you want to for the first time without shouting them. Also it’s where we keep the items for both starting your pathway to being a kwami and also how to contain your powers,” Tikki was rapidly naming these things off, and Marinette was finding it hard to keep up. “Also, Plagg runs the place so I have very good access to making sure no one comes into our practice room before you are meant to meet them.”

“Isn’t it a bad thing to tell me where the man who helped kidnap me works?” Marinette mentioned the thing Tikki had let slip through her stream of words.

“Oh,” Tikki’s mouth was a very small o, “I guess I shouldn’t have. But, hey, you won’t tell at this point, not until we teach you the magic you need to control your Ladybug side. Honestly, if you slipped into Ladybug at school today, pencils might have started floating. So, the gym is called Miraculous, which is a magical pun. Stemming from Ladybug’s main spell, Miraculous Ladybug. Funny, right? Cat boys love puns, I’ve learned time and time again.”

Tikki was so loud, Marinette looked at the other passengers on the train car they had walked into. None of them seemed to be able to listen. Tikki continued to talk about Plagg and what was going on in their personal lives, but Marinette tuned her out. Her voice turned to white noise and she let the rattling of a moving train spread throughout her mind.

Tikki’s cold ring hit her cheek, but left no mark. Blinking, Marinette looked around at frightened passengers. Being lightly slapped worked her out of the trance, but Tikki looked furious.

“What was that? Were you even in Ladybug form? Honestly, how are we going to control that power if you enjoy tormenting innocent people on a Metro train?” Tikki’s voice got louder, but had started out extremely muted.

“What did I do? I was just focusing on the clacking of the train,” Marinette thought she had done nothing.

“You, intolerant child, just made those clacking noises a lot louder than I could shout and terrified everyone, probably even the driver of this metal can.” The explanation cut through her like a blade.

“I didn’t mean to, I was just trying to focus on something very constant.” She felt so horrible about it, and the train would probably now be called in for repairs and maintenance even though it was just her.

“Don’t focus on anything so intensely until your magic is under control, okay?”

“Yeah, I won’t. That probably explains why I couldn’t listen to a teacher during a lesson and think at the same time today. Also probably why Alya complained that the same teacher got so much louder after I started actually paying attention in school,” Marinette said before sighing.

“Don’t worry, this is our stop here, and you will absolutely love our gym,” Tikki smiled knowingly at the statement, but Marinette had not seen much of Paris since she came back.

The gym was not a typical gym where people go to workout and do their weekly classes of pilates and cycling. It was a boxing gym, in the center was a square platform with the familiar ring on the ground and ropes around the outside. There was a collection of punching bags, gear, and a variety of weight machines and some different styles of treadmills behind the ring, but the ring was most definitely the main attraction.

“I’m not going in that thing.” Marinette said the first thing that came into her mind. Tikki walked in and went straight to the only person Marinette would have recognized. Plagg, pasty as ever, was standing there and explaining how to properly use a weight machine.

Tikki said her greetings with Marinette simmering in the background. If any person in this single gym knew what those two people had done to her and Chat for so long, they would never have come here in the first place.

“Come on, Mari. We have a specialized room for this today,” Tikki grabbed her by the arm and dragged her through a door to the back of the gym. Inside it was dark and gray with black shapes indicating furniture. A few people sat in chairs and one of them was smoking a cigarette.

“Tikki, one-day-Tikki,” the man with the cigarette calls from across the room. Marinette wondered if he meant her by “one-day-Tikki.”

She was dragged through yet another door and into a bright room. She looked at the worn wooden floor and row of mirrors on one wall. There was a faded line of wooden poles piled up in the corner. Tikki sat down in the middle of the floor, in a painted white symbol.

A circle split in two, surrounded by a larger octagon that was split into five more sections, each section of the symbol had a different symbol in it. The white lines were clean, straight edged around the turns as if it had been painted with a stencil. Tikki simply sat on one side of the circle and Plagg came in shortly after to sit on the other side.

Marinette didn’t know what to do, so she stood in the same place that she had stopped at. Tikki told her to sit on her side of the circle, and so she did. Silently.

“It is an old dance studio that we added on to. I know you were wondering, and that’s not what we should be focusing on. First, to separate Marinette and Ladybug, magically speaking, you need to do this spell on your first try. Then, I will hopefully get to teach you the other spell I was talking about earlier,” Tikki moved over to make more room for Marinette. “Now, to make sure you can be using magic right now, lift those old poles over there.”

“Sure,” Ladybug came forth from the depths of Marinette’s mind and Marinette went to those depths. Focusing on the poles, she thought the word Lift and each one floated above them. She focused them back to where they initially stood.

“Now, the spell you need to survive the rest of your life is quite easy. Shout it, and I mean shout it. Spots on!” Tikki called out and a pink flash bathed the room. “That’s what it will look like, and it will keep you from doing what you did in the Metro.

Ladybug repeated the words Tikki had told her and the room flashed the same hue once again. No trace of Marinette was there. Two minds were not fighting inside her head for the first time in nine years. Tikki was smiling happily, a bit translucent. The magic Ladybug performed had taken its toll on both of them, Tikki caught up in the past and Ladybug in the new red suit she was wearing.

“Where did this spandex come from?”

“It’s called perks. Now this next spell can be quite tricky, but I’m sure you’ll get it soon. It’s called Miraculous Ladybug,” Tikki’s eyes were glazed thick with memories.

#fanfic #my writes #supervillains #marichat #adrienette #LadyNoir #ladrien #ml #miraculous ladybug #we havent even gotten to the vaguely plotted part in my mind and its chapter 4