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angelofthequeers · 4 years

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Miladybug

Disclaimer: I don’t own ML.

I signed up to be a backup gifter for @mlsecretsanta and my giftee turned out to be @chimpukampu so I hope you like this fic! ❤️💚

AO3 link

“Where’s…Adrien?” Marinette pants when she’s tumbled into her seat, only barely on time for school which, to be fair, is a step up from being outright late. But there’s no familiar blond head in front of her!

“Home sick,” Nino says. “Poor dude’s got a nasty cold.”

“You reckon his dad’ll let him rest and recover?” Alya says, making a face. “Or is he just gonna learn at home?”

“Probably that one,” Nino says.

“Ugh. He’s got the worst dad, I swear. My mum would tie me to the bed with blankets and force-feed me homemade chicken soup.”

Ms Bustier clears her throat, cutting the conversation short. But Marinette can’t concentrate. All she can think about is poor, sick Adrien, and how she should maybe swing by later that night before patrol with a box of delicious baked goods…but no, she can’t. Between her love for Adrien and the feelings for Chat Noir that she’s trying to shove a lid on, it’s the last thing her tangled heart needs, not to mention that she’d probably end up a flustered mess like when she’d given Adrien the Snake Miraculous and then he’ll think she’s totally uncool and won’t want to talk to her and she’ll have blown her relationship with him on both sides of the mask and –

Marinette shakes her head with a soft groan and forces herself to pay attention to the lesson. Dwelling on it won’t do anything except send her brain spiralling, which is never a good time for her.

Once school’s over, she distracts herself until patrol time making a get well soon card for Adrien, even though she probably won’t have the guts to even sign it, let alone deliver it. Besides, the universe will probably kick her in the gut if she does; after all, she’d forgotten to sign her Valentine, and she’d signed Adrien’s birthday present, but her signature had somehow vanished. Tikki perches on her shoulder, munching on a cookie while Marinette sticks a scarlet heart to the front of the pink card and then sprinkles a touch of pink glitter on it.

“What do I even write?” she says when she opens it. “Dear Adrien, get well soon! Love, Marinette.” She groans and thumps her head on her desk. “No! That’s the most generic message ever! And “love”? Gah! That’s too – too – coupley!”

“I thought you wanted to be a couple,” Tikki teases.

“Yeah, but not through a get-well card when he’s sick!” Marinette says. “Ugh, this is a disaster!”

“Well, it’s almost time for patrol,” Tikki says. “Why not head out a little earlier to clear your head? Then you can work on your card when you get home!”

Marinette exhales and lets her shoulders slump. “You’re right, Tikki,” she says. “I’m freaking out over nothing!”

“Hey, I didn’t say that!”

“Yeah, yeah. Tikki, spots on!”

As Ladybug, all her worries seem to melt away once she’s swinging through the sea of lights that make up Paris. Although she could make it to the Eiffel Tower in less than a minute, she decides to take the scenic route and keeps a nice, relaxed pace through the city. At one point, she even closes her eyes and lets herself plummet, laughing at how the wind whips through her hair and howls in her ears, then opens her eyes and throws her yo-yo just in time to stop herself from crashing into the ground.

Even though she’s early, Chat Noir is already at the Tower when Ladybug lands on the platform at the tip, her pigtails a windblown mess and her cheeks flushed warm with blood. He gives her his signature smirk, although it’s lopsided.

“Milady!” He lets out a giggle. “Get it! Because you’re a ladybug! You’re milady…bug!” He squints at her and adds, “You don’t look like a bug, though. Your eyes are…” He laughs again. “Pretty!”

“Uh…” Ladybug lets her yo-yo swing. “Is there an akuma? Did you get hit?”

“What! Noooo! No akuma!” Chat Noir lets himself fall onto his back. “I’m happy, miladybug. Bugaboo. Angel. The light of my life!”

Her brow furrowed, Ladybug edges towards her oddly-behaving partner and nudges him with her toes. He giggles again and looks up at her with glazed green eyes.

“Okay, what happened?” she says, crossing her arms. “What did you do?”

“I’m sick!” Chat Noir beams as though Ladybug had just revealed her identity to him. “I have a coooold. But I’m so hot!” He flexes his biceps and says, “In more ways than one, miladybug!”

“God help me,” Ladybug mutters. “What kind of cold could you possibly have that would make you like this?”

“It’s not my cold!” Chat Noir winks. “It’s – it’s the meds! I took cold tablets!” He frowns and adds, “Why are they called cold tablets if they’re not cold? You don’t keep them in the fridge. Maybe you should, though!” He gasps and covers his mouth. “I’ve found the secret, miladybug! I’ll cure colds! Maybe I shouldn’t be a ps – a physicist. I’ll be a biologist!”

So, Chat Noir wants to be a physicist? Huh. Adrien likes physics too.

“A bi-ologist!” Chat Noir says with a rasping laugh. “Because I’m bi! Geddit, miladybug? And I’m bilingual! I’m learning Mandarin!” He gasps. “Are you bi too? Are we balanced? You on this side –” He holds his left hand out. “And me on this side!” He holds out his right hand. “For justice! Lady Justice! Milady Justice!”

“Okay, okay, no patrol for you tonight, kitty,” Ladybug sighs, sitting cross-legged next to him. He immediately shuffles over and rests his head in her lap, and a deep sound rumbles deep in his chest. “Did you just purr?”

“Mm-hmm!” Chat Noir sighs and nestles his head further in her lap. “Cats purr when they’re happy. And you make me happy, miladybug. You’re my – my catnip! I can’t get enough of you!” He twirls his finger near his temple and says, “You make me gaga when you’re around!”

Despite her best efforts, Ladybug can’t stop a giggle from escaping her. It seems that cold and flu medication sends Chat Noir high as a kite and removes any filter he might have. This could be problematic, although she can’t quite put her finger on why because even without a filter, he shouldn’t just up and spill his secret identity.

Right?

“Are you an angel, miladybug?” Chat Noir sighs. “You’re glowing.”

“That’s just the city lights, silly,” Ladybug says and boops his nose. He purrs louder in response.

“Your eyes are so pretty,” he says. “So – so – blue! Just like my friend.”

Alarm bells start to sound in Ladybug’s head. “Chat –”

“Marinette!” Chat Noir blurts out. Ladybug freezes. “You know Marinette, right? Of course you do! You told me to protect her from Nathanieeeel.” He sighs again and says, “Can I tell you a secret, miladybug?”

“Um, I don’t think –”

“I think I like Marinette. She’s so prettyyyy…and she’s always standing up – everyone stands up! No one can sit forever! But she stands up strongly. And she tells off Chloe. I wish I could be as cool as her.”

“Chat, I think you need to shut up now,” Ladybug says, trying to extract Chat Noir from her lap while also trying to deal with the warmth pooling in her gut at his words. Rather than listen to her, however, he utters the words that knock her entire worldview off its axis.

“She’s so beautiful when she’s positive,” Chat Noir says with a strong purr. “She’s the only person in my class who’s never touched a pretty black butterfly, apart from me.” He wrinkles his nose. “Wait, no, they’re ugly. Hawkmoth is ugly. But not Marinette! She’s beautiful. I’m used to disappointment. But she’s strong. Of course she is. She’s a baker’s daughter!” His eyes unfocus. “I wonder if she could carry me like a sack of flour.”

Ice explodes in Ladybug’s stomach, coating her insides. She’s the only other person apart from him that hasn’t been akumatised in their class? But – no, that can’t be – the only other person in Ms Bustier’s class who hasn’t been akumatised is…

Something behind Chat Noir’s mask seems to shift. The blond hair and green eyes are no longer unfamiliar. Now they’re – now it’s Adrien looking out at her with his drug-glazed eyes and lopsided grin –

No. Way. She’s been rejecting her crush all this time for herself! He’s starting to fall for her civilian identity, and he never would’ve let this slip if he’d known it was her behind the mask, drugged or not! And now he’s just gone and blurted it all out to her and outed his identity! What the heck is she supposed to do?

A soft snore snaps her out of her panicked thoughts. Chat Noir has dozed off in her lap, curled up like a cat and letting out little purring snores with each exhale. Before she realises what she’s doing, her fingers are carding through his hair, bright scarlet against soft gold like a rose on sea sand. Okay. She just has to be rational about this. She needs to talk to someone before she has her looming meltdown.

“Spots off,” she whispers. Pink sparkles wash over her, dissolving the ladybug suit and freeing Tikki. The kwami gasps, her eyes bulging as she takes in the scene before her.

“It’s okay,” Marinette says softly, still combing her fingers through his hair. “Adrien’s asleep.”

“Ad – oh.” Tikki’s large blue eyes are fixed on Chat Noir. “You know. How?”

“He’s high on cold meds,” Marinette says. “He let a few things slip. Things I couldn’t just brush off. Like how we’re the only two people in our class who haven’t been akumatised.”

“That would do it,” Tikki sighs. She darts into Marinette’s purse and emerges with a macaron, devouring half of it in one bite. “And you’re not…upset? Freaking out?’

“Oh, I’m about two seconds from losing my mind,” Marinette says rather evenly, still stroking her kitty’s hair. “I think it’s just a delayed reaction. And I don’t want to wake him up or freak out Paris and make them think there’s an akuma.”

“Poor Adrien.” Tikki darts down to press a tiny kiss to Chat Noir’s forehead.

“It makes sense now,” Marinette says. “Why Chat’s so…Chat. I mean, his timing could use some work, but of course he’s going to be that open when he’s Chat.”

“It’s not like he’s a different person as Chat than as Adrien,” Tikki says.

“Yeah, I know that,” Marinette says. She sighs and leans down to follow Tikki’s example and kiss Chat Noir on the forehead. The inevitable meltdown in the next few hours as she tries to process this is going to be huge. “Adrien has his dorky moments. How did I not see it before? He literally told me it was a ‘knightmare’ after Darkblade was defeated! And you knew!”

“Of course I knew,” Tikki says. “I saw him when you were facing Dark Owl. But are you really upset that I didn’t tell you?”

“No, no…it was my decision to keep our identities a secret. I guess I’m just trying to process.”

“Maybe you should process at home,” Tikki says. “You’re clearly not going to get any patrolling done, and it’s probably best for Adrien if he’s at home to rest.”

“But he’s…so peaceful.” Marinette starts to stroke a finger down Chat Noir’s nose over the shiny leather mask, just like her mother used to do to her as a small child. Chat Noir lets out a loud purr and nuzzles against her thigh.

“The longer you try to suppress this freak-out, the stronger it’s going to be when it sinks in,” Tikki says. “And super suit or not, the best thing for Adrien right now is to be resting at home. It’s not exactly warm out here.”

“That’s…true.” Marinette huffs and carefully shifts Chat Noir’s head so that she can stand up. Chat Noir lets out a tiny mewl when his head touches the cool metal of the Eiffel Tower, rather than the warmth of Marinette’s legs. She can’t help but let a laugh slip out when, absurdly, she realises what Chat Noir might have to say about Tikki’s wording. “That silly cat. He’d say suppurress and then give me that grin of his when I groan. I can’t believe I’m in love with this dork!”

“You’re in love with him?” Tikki says. Marinette braces herself for a freak-out that never emerges. Huh. Maybe it really is waiting until she’s home and her brain isn’t currently trying to process a million past interactions at once.

“He’s Adrien,” Marinette says. “Of course I’m in love with every side of him. And okay, so I might have been catching some feelings for Chat, but I’m just going to ignore that. And bury it deep down. Really deep down. And then let it blow up as I scream into my pillow and you float there and try to calm me down and offer me advice about how it’s all going to be alright and I’ll start shrieking about our three kids and hamster and island home and my parents will just assume I’m going on a lovesick ramble again –”

“Marinette!” Tikki says loudly, cutting off the rest of Marinette’s babbling in her throat. “Maybe you should get Adrien home while you’ve still got some semblance of higher brain power?”

“Right. Right. Of course.” Marinette runs a hand through her hair, accidentally pulling some strands out of her pigtails. “You’re right. Tikki, spots on!”

Once transformed, Ladybug scoops Chat Noir into her arms bridal-style and then leaps across the buildings of Paris in the direction of the Agreste mansion. To be honest, there’s a part of her that’s praying to see Adrien in his room, to maintain this charade of Adrien and Chat Noir being two separate people, even though she knows rationally that after Chat Noir’s rambling just before, there’s no way he could be anyone else. But sure enough, when she swings smoothly through the window into Adrien’s bedroom, there’s no one there.

Well, then. Guess there’s no more deluding herself. Chat Noir and Adrien Agreste are the same person. The boy she’s been turning down is the boy she’s been so in love with for so long.

“He can’t detransform like this, can he?” Ladybug mumbles to herself once she’s laid Chat Noir down on the bed as reverently as someone might set down their new bride. Chat Noir snuffles and curls in on himself, then lets out a tiny snore, and Ladybug’s insides melt into goo at just how…adorable he is.

If she’s honest with herself, Chat Noir’s always had a bit of her heart that Adrien never had. It would’ve been easy – so very easy – to let herself fall for him. But how could she do that when her heart belonged to Adrien? How could she let herself give up on the boy she loved?

Except that now, she doesn’t have to. The two boys who’ve staked claim to her heart are one and the same. It’s not as though her feelings for Adrien have transferred to Chat Noir now that she knows they’re the same person. It’s more like…acknowledging the duality of Adrien and Chat Noir has unlocked her heart, allowing herself to fully love both sides of the same boy, simultaneously so similar and yet so different.

Ladybug blinks and shakes her head. Of course she’d stand there and wax poetic over her sleeping kitty. But how is she supposed to detransform him without waking him up to have him say the words? She can’t really leave him there as Chat Noir in case someone comes to check on him and finds a leather cat superhero where the sunshine prince of Paris should be. She bites down on her lip to stifle her laughter at that thought, to avoid waking him.

“Forgive me, mon minou,” Ladybug whispers. She takes his hand in hers and starts to slide his ring off, ever so slowly, making sure that he doesn’t wake up and start freaking out that someone’s trying to remove his ring. She freezes when he grunts, but his head just lolls to the other side and he continues to snore softly, his exhales whistling just like hers do when she’s all clogged up from a cold. Poor kitten.

In a flash of green light, Chat Noir is replaced with Adrien once Ladybug finally gets the ring off. Plagg comes tumbling out and whips around, no doubt to investigate why he’d been forcibly freed from the transformation, so Ladybug just raises a finger to her lips, Plagg’s Miraculous in full view, and then carefully twists the now-silver ring back onto Adrien’s finger. Plagg watches her silently, his bright green cat eyes rather eerie in the rolling shadows of Adrien’s room cast by the lights outside his window.

“I can’t believe he’s my kitten.” Ladybug sits down next to Adrien, careful not to disturb him, wincing when he forces in a particularly loud gulp of air. She resumes stroking her finger down his nose just as she’d done on top of the Eiffel Tower and he seems to lean into the touch with a soft purr, although that could just be her imagination.

“Thanks for taking care of him.” Plagg’s voice is soft, both in volume to not wake Adrien up and in tone, unlike his usual crassness. “I tried to get him to skip out on patrol tonight.”

“He should have. Silly kitty.” Impulsively, Ladybug bends down and smooths back Adrien’s soft hair to press a kiss to his forehead, her lips lingering on the hot skin. She won’t kiss him on the mouth, not while he’s asleep; that’s a privilege that she has to earn when he’s awake and aware. “I wish I could help.”

“Kid, trust me, when I tell him Ladybug kissed him, that’ll help him plenty,” Plagg says. Then he smirks, his fangs glinting in the dim light. “He’s gonna freak when I tell him Ladybug knows who he is. Maybe he’ll finally shut up about his lady and her silky hair like night and her bluebell eyes –”

“Plagg!” Ladybug hisses as blood rushes to her cheeks. “Don’t be a turd!”

Plagg just cackles quietly. “You should go, Pigtails,” he says as he zips down to snuggle on the pillow next to Adrien’s head. “I’ll watch out for him. Wouldn’t want to be late for school tomorrow, would ya?”

“You and I both know I’ll always be late, Ladybug or not,” Ladybug say. But she still rises from the bed as gently as she can, then turns back to leave one last kiss on Adrien’s forehead. “Sleep well, mon chéri.”

“Gag me,” Plagg mutters. Ladybug rolls her eyes at him before heading for the window, tiptoeing so that her kitten can sleep peacefully. She her yo-yo to catch on a nearby chimney, blows a kiss back at Adrien, then leaps out into the cool Parisian night.

“Don’t worry, Adrien,” Ladybug murmurs as she reflects on the action-packed events of the past hour, praying that she makes it home before it really sinks in and she starts to scream, because the last thing she needs is to scare the living daylights out of Paris. “I’ll carry you like a bag of flour tomorrow. Just you wait and see.”

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dorizardthewizard · 4 years

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So I watched the Eurovision movie

Uh, I have a lot of thoughts because this is the closest we’re gonna get to the real thing this year ;^; First, the positives!

What they got right:

Overall, I like that it wasn’t really taking the piss out of the competition – whether you agree or not with how it was portrayed, the creators do have a lot of love for the show and that is reflected in how much it means to the characters. I think it was fitting to start with the kids watching and being inspired by ABBA’s win (I’m always up for showing people where the group’s fame started), and making it their life goal to perform in the contest. Just like Lars and Sigrit, many musicians in Europe grow up with Eurovision being an annual tradition and it’s their big dream to one day perform on that international stage, so yeah I think it decently showed how important ESC is here.

They got the overall vibe right too – most of the songs really felt like Eurovision songs (maybe a little dated but still), from the Viking-Europop opener to the Lordi-aesthetic one to whatever the hell Russia was doing. I don’t think Greece’s song was something they’d ever send though; it fits the character but not what the country typically sends. Then again, Estonia have sent an opera song in Italian and Romania sent yodel rap so actually, I take back that statement. They were missing a Balkan ballad though! Staging was on point – I think it was filmed at the Tel Aviv stage so that’s obviously a factor, but big angel wings and hamster wheels also bring a lot of familiarity :P No pianos being set on fire though, which, in a movie with so many on-stage disasters, is honestly surprising.

Of course there’s also the past contestant cameos, for that I’ll say one thing – needs more Verka. Maybe some contestants from earlier years would have been nice too, at least we did hear Céline Dion’s song in the song-along. Would also have been nice if the whole mashup was Eurovision songs, instead of throwing in some other ones just to make it more recognizable for non-Eurofans. Otherwise, the mashup was really seamless and sounded good.

Another thing the movie got right was European’s attitudes to Americans, not sure how I feel about it since the movie was made by Americans, but it’s self-aware and pretty funny :P There’s also the funny gag about countries not wanting to host because of how expensive it is, not sure why a guy working for the national broadcaster would care about that but looking at Iceland’s population size, I wouldn’t be surprised if he was also an economist for the government or something.

What they got wrong:

Of course, there were some things they didn’t quite get right. First of all, did the UK win for it to be hosted in Scotland??? Unless Australia won, or some other country that didn’t want to host or something. They actually made a joke about UK getting zero points, but they said it’s because no one likes us, when in reality we just send the blandest songs :/

There were also a whole lot of technical inaccuracies like Sweden breaking the rule on number of people allowed on stage, big five countries taking part in the semi-final (come on, how can you not get that right? Maybe they were afraid Americans wouldn’t recognise half the flags? :P), the contestants were just sitting by themselves in some room like it’s The Voice or something, their delegations nowhere to be seen, and then there’s the total lack of security or planning around the competition, with Lars just running around doing whatever. The countries presenting their votes in the semi-final stood out as well, but since we didn’t get to see the final I can brush over it, just so we experience the voting somewhere in the movie. Wonder why they didn’t use past contestants for the points announcements? They also had the French one speaking in English but you know what, they remembered to make sure he was standing in front of the Eiffel Tower so I’ll let them off :P

One thing that did bother me was how hard the movie tried to make us think the Icelandic song was a failure, except the song wasn’t even bad so they had to resort to all the incidents on stage. They even had that complete silence after the hamster wheel incident, and there is NO WAY that would ever happen – even the null points songs get cheers! In fact, people would cheer harder, and I don’t think Graham Norton, or anyone for that matter, would be that surprised that people remembered the song and actually gave it points (oh yeah, great to see him in this!).

Okay, some of those inaccuracies were nitpicks, but they’re just fun to point out. I don’t think they quite nailed the portrayal though, but more on that later.

The movie itself:

Judging the rest of the film, the humour really didn’t do it for me- it was just kind of jarring that one half of the movie felt like your usual light-hearted music contest film that was fairly rooted in reality, then the next there’s a dismembered ghost of Demi Lovato and a guy getting stabbed by Elves??? I know it’s classic Will Ferrel random comedy but honestly, those parts could have been cut out of the movie just fine, it’s like half an hour too long anyway and you can tell by the way the humour drags. It can basically be summarised by the ending scene where Lars is yelling at the Americans and then just keeps going, and I know that’s the joke in that scene but they do this throughout the whole movie – something will happen and the characters will keep reacting back and forth and it’s honestly exhausting. That might just be me though, maybe I’d prefer more witty and self-aware humour in a Eurovision movie but I guess non-fans wouldn’t get half the jokes so they went for over-the-top ridiculousness ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

As for the characters, Sigrit was great; she’s a good mix between cute and weird. Lars is… annoying tbh, maybe I just don’t care for Will Ferrel's character type but when Alexander asks Lars what he can possibly offer Sigrit I was like “yeah Lars, what CAN you offer?”. Their relationship was cute though and his arc about caring too much about winning was decent, it does kind of resonate with Eurovision because yeah, lots of countries will revamp their songs to have English lyrics and the style is increasingly converging to Americanized radio-friendly pop music. I do wish they’d focused more on this conflict, rather than bringing in a love square (?) with Alexander and Mita.

Speaking of Alexander, I actually liked how they portrayed the Russian character; he wasn’t a villain, he was fun to watch and was genuinely happy to see Sigrit succeed. I did not expect them to go there with the whole “there are no gays in Russia” thing – I laughed but also actually felt for the guy, and his friendship with Mita was peak mlm/wlw solidarity, it was sweet.

The ending:

For me, this is where it goes American Hollywood style and kinda reminds me of Madonna’s speech about everyone being winners. Felt like I was watching Camp Rock for a second then (which is funny since Demi is in this movie) – all the other acts are fun songs but we’ll just change ours to a ballad so it must be more heartfelt and resonate with the audience, as if a good chunk of ESC songs aren’t ballads already!! To be fair, they do well in having it be a personal song about her hometown and adding in parts in Icelandic (although I’ve heard it’s so butchered you can’t understand what’s being said), it’s a sweet ode to one of the best parts of Eurovision – celebrating where you’re from and making your country proud.

Wish they’d focused more on that tbh, we really could have done without Lars speaking to the audience – that’s the more Hollywood moment for me and kind of reminds me of acts that try to connect with the audience like it’s a concert. Sorry but we don’t do that here :P Instead of the “music is feeling”-like message, it would have been nice if the movie was more directed towards celebrating why the contest is so big and important even decades after it began, and how it literally brings an entire continent together for one night. This would have been nice especially because of all the cynicism towards ESC and its dismissal as just a dumb, campy event with no quality music whatsoever.

Huh, I just remembered there are no live instruments at Eurovision so how everyone can hear the piano at the end is beyond me, also the instrumental kicks in despite the fact that that song has never been recorded in a studio, let alone able to be played out loud onstage. But I’ll just imagine that’s for us to see, the audience actually just heard her singing and nothing else. I don’t think it would have been that impressive, so Iceland probably won everyone’s hearts through memes instead :’D

Overall, I don’t think the movie was terribly offensive or anything, just some silly fun that missed out on the potential of better portraying the Eurovision spirit. I might eventually watch it again, but with skipping out half the comedy :P

#eurovision #esc #eurovision movie #the story of fire saga #feel free to share thoughts if you were crazy enough to read all this!#my posts

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whelvenwings · 4 years

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Together in Paris

4.8k, destiel, AU (just after college), fake relationship, Jo & Dean friendship

Dean has been excited for months to go on vacation with his best friend, Jo. But as they post their pics on the trip, people back home keep commenting about what a great couple they are, and it's starting to make things awkward in their friendship. In front of a sunset backdrop by the Eiffel Tower, Dean decides to take things into his own hands, and manufacture a picture of a "real" romantic moment with someone who definitely isn't Jo. Only thing he needs to do now is find someone willing to pretend to be his partner for a picture...

read it here on AO3 if you prefer!

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“She’s commented again.”

“Ugh. Don’t even tell me what she said.” Parisian sunlight was reflecting off Dean’s sunglasses. It was too hot to wear a jacket, and he felt strangely exposed walking up the avenue with just a t-shirt and jeans on. Beside him, Jo was walking with her eyes on her phone, silently scrolling. Dean waited a few seconds, and then said impatiently,

“Well, tell me, then.”

Jo made a little noise of annoyance and scrolled back up on her Instagram feed to the picture the two of them had posted earlier that day, grinning into the camera with Jo’s arm slung around Dean’s shoulders.

“She said, oh-em-gee you lovebirds are so cute together. ”

“Oh-em-gee?”

Jo held the phone out for Dean to see. Under the pic, Dean could see the comment Jo had read out next to the handle lisa_baeden.

“How many times do we have to tell her,” Dean said.

“I don’t know. But I’m getting real done with it. People I actually want to date think something’s happening between us, too. They’re getting put off by you.”

“Seriously?”

“Well, it was one time. And it might be more to do with the fact that I spent our whole first date talking about the work I’m getting done at the bar to fix the place up. Didn’t notice his eyes glazing over, but I didn’t get a second date, so.”

“He sounds like a jerk, anyway.”

“You never met him,” Jo said, squinting back down at her phone.

“Anyone who doesn’t want a second date with you is a jerk.”

Jo grinned at him.

“You’re a nerd. But thanks.” She glanced back down at her phone. “Okay, I think it’s just this way…”

“It’s way too hot for this,” Dean said.

“Not complaining, are we? Like I said that you would, when you asked to go see the Eiffel Tower right now, this afternoon, even though it’s going to be way less warm tomorrow?”

“Complaining? No,” Dean said hastily. “No, I’m just, uh. Just sayin’. It’s pretty hot. Look, the sunset’s supposed to be real nice tonight…”

Jo shrugged.

“You know that if we post any pics with it, everyone’s just gonna say that we’re dating again, right?”

Dean made a noise that was both acknowledgement and irritation. When he had Jo had planned this trip together as a big blow-out spending spree after their first paycheck in their first jobs after college, it had felt like a great idea. For two weeks, though, their Paris pics had been subject to their friends’ wink emojis and innuendos. Jo’s mother had even called to ask if they were getting married. There were only so many times that they could reply to insist that the two of them were what they’d been pretty much from day one of meeting each other: best friends. Close, understanding each other in a way that not many others did - they’d come out to each other first in college - but in a way that was not and had never been even slightly romantic. They were easy around each other. It had always felt natural.

“Just a bit further…” Jo said, as they walked past the Café du Trocadéro and crossed a busy road.

“Maybe I’ll take a picture with someone else,” Dean said, narrowing his eyes even behind his sunglasses as the shade of the buildings faded and they were hit with the full glare of the lowering sun. “And just tell everyone I’m dating them so they leave us alone.”

“Nice,” Jo said. “Okay, I think it’s - oh!”

She caught sight of the tower just as Dean did; walking out onto the Place du Trocadéro, a wide square with an elegant black-and-white floor, they found themselves among a bustling crowd of other tourists gathered to get their snaps and see the view. She and Dean paused, looking over towards the Eiffel Tower and the horizon beyond. The sky was already beginning to paint itself in delicate pinks and oranges, little breaths of softness after the hard and blazing blue of a cloudless day. The metal tower with its latticework made a striking silhouette.

Jo put her head on one side after a few moments.

“I mean,” she said, “not bad.”

“Yeah,” Dean replied. “It’s okay.”

“Like, I mean, it’s a little…” She tilted her hand from side to side.

“Well, it’s not the Lawrence, Kansas skyline, is it,” Dean said.

“Not even close,” Jo said seriously.

“But it’ll do, I guess.”

They grinned at each other. As the sun began to truly set, they took snaps of each other posing in front of the tower, some of them trying to look nice, others just derpy selfies with their tongues out. After a while, they went and sat on the steps to the back of the square, and Jo pulled up Instagram.

“You’re not gonna post, are you?” Dean said.

“They’re not gonna stop me from being that obnoxious vacation selfie person,” Jo said. “I don’t care if everyone thinks we’re married with eight kids by the time we get home.”

She sounded the same kind of determined that she’d once sounded when she’d insisted she’d be fine to go to her ex’s birthday party in their second year of college. The night had ended with a lot of crying in the back of a taxi, if Dean remembered right. He didn’t bring it up, though. He just shrugged and kept looking out over the view.

He was going to miss this, when he was back home. And he was going to miss this city, Paris. He’d heard so much about it - it was always hyped up so high - that he’d thought it could only disappoint. But it was awesome, he had to admit it. Around every corner was a new wonder. Going home would mean finding a new fast-food outlet on each corner, instead. And speaking of food, the restaurants here were incredible; Dean had never eaten so well. Starting every day with a different pastry from the patisserie nearest their hotel… he was going to miss it. Horribly.

Jo put her phone down.

“There,” she said. “Done.”

He could tell by the way that she said it, she wasn’t sure that she’d done the right thing.

“It doesn’t matter what they think,” Dean said.

“I know that,” Jo said. “But they think that what they think matters. It’s just aggravating.”

“I know.” Dean grinned at her. “Wanna go get something to eat?”

“We only just ate!”

“It was five hours ago. At least.”

“Just a few more minutes up here. Maybe we’ll never be able to come back. This might be our only chance to sit and look at this view together.” She paused, and then said, “Not in like a… I don’t mean, like…” She sounded awkward and Dean realised she’d noticed the romantic way that what she’d said could have been taken. He grimaced internally. Those damn comments were getting in her head.

“It’s all good,” he said. “It’s - this is - it’s nice, yeah.”

The silence was one with zero chemistry. There was no charge between them. Or at least, nothing that Dean could feel; he just didn’t know where to look, didn’t know if he should be saying more.

“Do you ever wish things were… you know… different between us?” Jo asked.

“I mean… no,” Dean said. “Honestly.”

“Okay. Good. Me either. I just don’t want you to think that I’m sitting here wishing anything.”

“Nah, man. Nothin’ like that. I mean, everyone’s thinking I’m the sad sack in those comments, anyway. Not you. Everyone’s always kinda assumed I’m the one who - you know. And you don’t… yeah.”

“Yeah,” Jo said quietly.

“Can’t get their heads around the idea that I might just wanna be your friend. Not waiting for anything.”

“Fucking When Harry Met Sally bullshit,” Jo said, with feeling.

“Yeah.” Dean looked down at the white stone floor they were sitting on. If he was honest, it hadn’t always been easy going through college with everyone constantly looking down on him just a little, thinking that he was playing the long game to try to get with Jo. No one had ever taken him at his word that he just really, really goddamn liked her as a friend - no one other than his own brother Sam, who knew him well enough to be able to tell without being told.

Jo’s phone dinged with her Instagram notification noise, and Dean winced. She pulled it out, and spent a few seconds reading - and then made a furious little sound.

“Hmm?” Dean said, unwillingly.

“They’re jerks,” Jo muttered vehemently. “Total jerks.”

“What’s it say?”

“Nothing.”

“That bad?”

Jo winced.

“C’mon. I’m gonna see it sometime.”

Jo turned the phone towards him with obvious reluctance. Dean leaned closer to read it.

lisa_baeden pls tell me there’s gonna be a ring when you get home !! crossroadscrowley nice guys finish last. but they do finish meg_a_big_deal lol is dean finally getting it? took him long enough bellabela oh jo honey no you didn’t start dating stalker dean

“Stalker?” Dean said, trying to sound normal.

“That’s Bela. You remember her. The one who made, like, three different people quit classes she was in, just by being awful to them.”

“Oh, uh-huh. Yeah.” Dean could feel anger building up inside. Stalker? Finally getting it? How many times did he have to tell people that he wasn’t into Jo that way? How many people thought he was a hopeless loser because of this?

Enough was enough.

“You know what? I’m blocking her,” Jo said.

Enough was enough.

“No,” Dean said. Jo looked over at him, surprised.

“But she’s -”

��She’s about to find out that I’m not into you that way,” Dean said, standing up and brushing his clothes down. “How do I look?”

“Uh…?” Jo said.

“Great. Good. Hey, does anyone here speak English? Anybody? Uh, parlay-view… english… madame? Monsieur?” Dean turned left and right, trying to catch the eyes of anyone walking past. A few people shrugged him off with a weird look, and one couple actively stepped away from him. Dean looked back towards Jo, who was looking mortified and also giggling. “Anyone?” Dean said. “English?”

“I speak English,” said a voice behind Dean.

A deep voice.

A really nice deep voice.

Dean turned around. Standing there in front of him was - holy crap.

Blue eyes, dark hair, a sharp jawline and a solemn expression. The guy had a t-shirt on that showed his huge arms. He was muscular, athletic . He looked like he could easily lift Dean up off the ground.

Focus. Dean needed to focus.

“Hey,” he said. “Hi. Thanks for stopping.”

“Hello,” said the stranger. “Can I help you? Are you lost?”

“Yeah - I mean, no, not lost,” Dean said. Lost in your eyes, maybe, said the worst corner of his brain. “Uh, but maybe you could help. See, it’s kind of a weird situation, but - you see this girl just here?”

“Dean…” Jo groaned, burying her face in her hands. “Don’t bring me into this.”

“I see her,” the stranger said, a little uncertainly.

“Okay, so. This is gonna sound… like...” Dean might have stopped there, lost confidence, if the guy had made the wrong face. Instead, Dean was faced with an expression of accepting curiosity that kept him talking. “The thing is, we’re on vacation together, as friends. But everyone at home keeps assuming we’re together, and they’re being assholes about it. We wanna convince them nothing’s happening between us. So, uh.” Dean bit his lip.

Somehow, it was only just dawning on him that the guy might really not be into the idea that Dean was about to propose. In fact, depending on how much the guy wasn’t into it, this could be the start of a very bigoted reaction from a very beautiful stranger. But Dean had come this far with his focus so complete on his plan that he’d forgotten homophobia was even a thing - and now the guy was looking at him with sincere curiosity, and Dean didn’t know what else to say but the truth.

“So,” he said awkwardly, “the thing I wanted to ask was… well...” He rubbed the back of his neck - and in that moment, he saw light dawn in the guy’s eyes.

“You should take a picture with someone else to show that you’re not together,” the guy said. “A couple picture.”

Dean blinked.

“Holy crap,” Dean heard Jo say.

“Uh… yeah,” Dean said. “I mean… yeah, that was exactly it.” Was his plan the obvious one to make, or were he and this guy just both the same wavelength of weird? Either way, the guy was nodding, and Dean’s heart leapt.

“It’s a good tactic,” the stranger said. “I think you’ll convince a lot of people that your relations with this person are strictly platonic, particularly if she is the one to post the picture. Perhaps with a supportive caption.”

“Damn,” Jo said.

“Yeah,” Dean said, still feeling as though he’d had the Parisian stone floor swept out from under his feet. “Yeah, so, I was thinking, maybe it’d work to go over and stand in front of the sunset, and…”

“Absolutely. We should find you someone to take the picture with.”

Dean’s mouth fell open.

“Oooh,” he heard Jo wince.

“Uh, right,” Dean said. “Yeah.”

“Do you have any gender preference?”

Now, there was a question. The guy was looking at Dean frankly. It was a simple request for information; there was no promise of judgement in his eyes.

“No,” Dean said. “I’m bi.” The stranger nodded. And there, in front of the Eiffel Tower at sunset, Dean had the least stressful coming-out he’d ever experienced in his entire life.

“Hmm. You probably want someone you find good-looking, to be able to perform the role to maximum effect,” the stranger said. “Let me see. What do you think of that one, over there? I could ask them if they’d be willing to…”

He started to ramble, pointing out different tourists. Dean glanced down at Jo, who was watching the scene in front of her unfold with obvious enjoyment. She wiggled her eyebrows at Dean when he caught her eye, and jerked her head towards the stranger.

Dean shook his head.

She pulled a face, and nodded her head towards him again.

Dean’s head-shake became more fervent.

Jo rolled her eyes, and lifted up her phone, which still had the worst Instagram comments up on the screen.

Dean wavered.

“- I know you don’t speak French,” the guy was saying, “and she was speaking French, but I think I could ask her for you. I’m not fluent but I know enough to get by, and -”

“How about we just do it?” Dean said abruptly.

The stranger stopped short, turning away from his crowd of potentially alluring tourists to look at Dean.

“I mean,” Dean said, feeling his heart starting to thud, “unless you don’t want to. This is, uh. Just, well. I don’t know.”

“Are you sure you could look as though you were attracted to me?” the man said seriously - not as though he doubted his own attractiveness, and more in the tone of voice that he might use to verify Dean’s thoughts on the weather.

“Um,” Dean said, “yeah? I mean, yeah… yeah.” Each time he said it, he tried to sound more casual. Each time, it came out slightly less so.

The guy seemed to look at Dean - really look at him - for the first time. He appeared to consider for a half-second, and then Dean noticed a smile at the corners of the guy’s mouth.

Dean found himself smiling, too, and then they were both just looking at each other and smiling and not saying anything, but it didn’t feel weird. It felt good. Or maybe it did feel a little weird, but it was the same wavelength of weird.

Around them, people were chattering and walking around the square.

“Then let’s take the picture,” the guy said.

“Okay. Okay, great. Uh, Jo?”

“I’m on it,” Jo said; she already had her phone up, camera on them. “Let’s just go a little further over this way, so there’s not so many people in the background, and we get the skyline… yeah, great. Awesome. Now, look coupley.”

Dean thought his face might actually be going red. His arms felt too big. He met the guy’s eyes, and shrugged. This was ridiculous, he told himself. This was ridiculous, and it was also somehow the best part of the entire vacation so far, and he hadn’t quite lost that smile.

“Uh…” he said. “Okay. I’ll just…”

He put his arm around the guy’s shoulder.

“I’m going to put my hand on your hip,” the stranger said gravely.

Please absolutely do it, said Dean’s mind.

“Cool,” Dean said aloud. When the guy’s hand touched him, he swallowed.

“You look a little stiff,” Jo said, moving the phone around and trying different angles. “Try talking with each other. You know, just have some fun with it.”

“I believe they call it a candid,” the guy said.

“Exactly. Dean, this guy’s a pro.”

“Are you?” Dean asked, only half-joking. “Do you really pull social media heists for money?”

The stranger smiled.

“No. Do you?”

“Hope I’d be better at it, if I did,” Dean said. His arm on the guy’s shoulder did feel awkward. He shifted, pulling the guy in a little closer, and then half-smiling in embarrassment. Jo was snapping away in the meantime. “Sorry, uh…”

“No, it’s good. We should pretend to laugh at a joke together. That’s very candid.”

“Really? Okay. Maybe you should actually tell a joke, first. So that we have something to laugh at.”

“Very well.” The guy paused, looking thoughtful. After a moment, he said, “Why was six afraid of seven?”

Dean snorted, just at the familiar set-up.

“I don’t know,” he said, going along with it.

“Because,” the stranger said, “seven is a prime number, and prime numbers can be intimidating.”

Dean was almost annoyed at himself for laughing. He’d just been expecting the usual slightly lame punchline, and the guy’s answer took him by surprise, and next thing he knew he was freaking chuckling for a whole few seconds while the man beside him looked very pleased with himself, that small smile back on his face.

“Great,” Jo said. “Let’s try a few more…”

“We could pose… like this…” The guy reached over and took Dean’s hand.

“Oh, yeah, that’s good.” They held the stance for a few seconds. “Or, we could be kinda facing each other… yeah, if you turn, too…”

Jo was snapping pictures as they tried out different ways of standing, different poses, different expressions.

“Looking awesome, guys,” she kept saying. “Mmm-hmmm, keep going, this is great.”

“You could… on my cheek…” The guy raised an eyebrow as Dean broke off.

“You want me to…”

“Only if you, uh, you want to -”

The guy leaned in and pressed a kiss to Dean’s cheek. Jo came in close, capturing the moment; Dean thought maybe his face wouldn’t look happy so much as taken by complete surprise - but it was definitely a very good surprise, so he could hope it was still a good photo.

“Great,” Jo said. “Good. We’ve probably got enough to...”

“You should kiss me,” the guy said.

Dean, who had been about to extricate himself from what had definitely become an embrace as they’d got more comfortable with posing together, stopped moving.

“Like… on the… cheek?” Dean asked.

“If you prefer.”

Dean looked over at Jo, who nodded and brought her phone camera back up, ready. He leaned in, and pecked the guy on the cheek. It was a brief, dry kind of kiss, a lot less nice than the one the guy had given him. The guy didn’t pull away, though.

Under Dean’s lips, his skin had felt soft, but Dean had been able to feel the slight stubble where his afternoon shadow was coming in.

“Okay,” Jo said. “So -”

“No, wait, I can do that better.” Dean met the guy’s eyes, and he made a sure, continue kind of face, so Dean leaned in again. This time he gave it a little more, pressing a little harder, letting his lips be a little softer. And when he pulled away, he didn’t go too far. The guy smelled amazing. He was so close, and he was turning to look at Dean, his eyes flicking down to Dean’s lips.

The moment wavered, tilted, balanced...

“You should kiss me,” the stranger said again.

Dean did not need telling thrice.

This time, he slid his hand under the guy’s chin and held him, carefully, as he kissed his lips. That would look good for the picture, right? The stranger moved with him, one hand shifting up to the back of Dean’s neck and holding him steady as he kissed back; under his touch, Dean’s whole mind was an uproarious pounding fluttering blank, a delighted whirl. He was kissing a stranger in front of the Eiffel Tower. He was kissing a stranger, and the stranger was good at kissing - and then Dean stopped thinking about where he was and what was happening around them altogether when the guy carefully opened his mouth just a little, and Dean felt the guy’s tongue brush ever so lightly against his lower lip.

Now there was no tower, no sunset, no photos, no performance. The kiss deepened, hands tightened. The guy pulled back just long enough to tilt his head the other way and then came back, his hold on Dean’s neck keeping Dean steady in place as he did so - and when that grip moved up into Dean’s hair, Dean heard himself make a noise in the back of his throat that couldn’t be mistaken for anything other than sheer enjoyment. He pushed harder into the kiss, taking control, and the guy let him - let the way they touched become a little rougher, just for a few moments, and then the lightest of touches on Dean’s cheek soothed the wave of urgency between them and they eased, gently, apart.

The guy came back for another quick kiss, once.

Twice.

Dean opened his eyes. He thought for a second he might literally see stars.

The stranger was looking at him. From the expression on his face, he was looking for those stars, too.

Dean swallowed.

“Uh,” he said. “Hey.”

“Hello,” the stranger said.

“That…”

“Yes.”

Dean wanted more, but he didn’t want to push his luck or make the guy uncomfortable. It was still possible that this was all just for a photo in his mind. Dean couldn’t keep the smile off his face, though, at the thought of what they’d just done. His mind was already playing the memory back for him in hungry detail. The way the guy had held him, had let him take control and then taken it back, the give and take, the -

Dean really wanted more.

The guy, though, was moving away just a little further - and then he held out his hand.

“I’m Castiel,” he said.

Dean felt a big grin unfurl on his face.

“Dean,” he managed, shaking the guy’s hand. It was all he could do not to use that hand to pull this guy - Castiel? - back into a kiss. “Uh, Castiel’s not a name I’ve heard before.”

“Yes. It’s unusual, I know…”

“No, it - I mean, yeah, but it’s real nice. I like it.” Dean turned to look at Jo, remembering that she was there for the first time in a minute or so. Jo was standing and watching them both, a huge grin on her face. Dean became suddenly very conscious of the fact that he’d just made out with someone in front of her. He pulled a little further away from Castiel, but not too far. Still close enough for their arms to be touching.

“You know,” Jo said, “I think that was probably just about convincing enough.”

“Right. Yeah. Great, good.” Dean looked over at the stranger he’d just kissed, and then found himself looking down and away with a half-smile on his face, like a school kid. “Awesome.”

“I’m gonna post this right now,” Jo said. “Also, hi, we didn’t really… I’m Jo, by the way.”

“Castiel,” said Castiel.

It would be weird for Dean to ask if he wanted to make out again. It would be super weird. Dean had the feeling, though, from the way Castiel glanced over towards him, that they were on it again, that same wavelength of weird.

“What are you doing this evening?” Dean asked.

Castiel smiled.

“No real plans,” he said. “This is my last day in Paris before heading back to the US. I was just thinking I would walk around alone, and enjoy a few of the sights one last time.”

“Ah,” Dean said.

“But I did already see them,” Castiel said.

“Oh?”

“Yes. Probably enough times.”

“You think so?”

“I do.”

“And the alone thing…”

“I think I’ve had enough time alone, in fact.”

He said the words with a little more feeling than Dean had been expecting - and somehow, he knew exactly what Castiel meant.

“Aaaaand, posted,” Jo said. “Also, I’m glad you’re making plans, because I’m pretty sure if you kiss a guy like that and then don’t take him out to dinner after, every true-blooded Parisian romantic in a five-mile radius will physically attack you. And they’ll have to get in line behind me, so.”

Dean snorted.

“It doesn’t have to be… I mean… it’s just… I mean…” he trailed off, with no idea where he’d even been going with that sentence when he’d started it. He caught Jo’s eye, and she raised an eyebrow. He screwed up his courage, and looked back to Castiel. “Would you let me take you out to dinner tonight?”

Castiel smiled that little smile of his.

“Yes,” he said. “Yes, please.”

---

In her hotel room, lounging in a decadently thick bathrobe on her lush king-sized bed, Jo heard a notification on her phone and reached to pick it up.

She opened her latest message: a picture from Dean. A selfie of Dean himself and Castiel, with their faces touching so that they could squeeze the Eiffel Tower into the background of the picture.

He lives in Missouri. Not far. Fuck yeah??, read the text that came with it.

Fuck YEAH, she replied.

Dean’s response came quickly.

Thanks for everything today. Jo grinned.

Dork, she texted back.

Nerd.

Jo rolled her eyes, and was about to put her phone away when she saw an Instagram notification flash up at the top of the screen. She opened the app, her eyes narrowed in anticipation. She’d chosen the very best of the pics she’d snapped of Dean and Castiel to post. There was no way anyone could be in any doubt that the two of them had some kind of instant magical connection. Right?

lisa_baeden omg jo I didn’t know you and dean had an open relationship !!

Jo closed her eyes. She counted to ten. She made the effort to loosen her grip on the phone in her hand. Even so, when she opened her eyes, she was still on the point of launching her phone across the room at the wall directly opposite her -

Another notification. Jo didn’t know if she could stand it - but then she saw who it was from.

lisa_baeden just kidding ! Love you guys and this is so cute, vacation romance… jealous xoxo

Setting her phone down, Jo breathed out.

No counting her chickens before they hatched, but maybe, just possibly, she’d now be able to hang out with her best friend without anyone insisting they knew the relationship better than she did. With a smile, she picked up the hotel phone. One round of room service hadn’t been enough.

And across the city, outside a little bar deep in a warren of streets, Dean was leaning against a wall and being kissed by Castiel. The stone was cool against his back, Castiel pressing warm against his front. No one disturbed them. They kissed in quiet, enjoying each other’s touch, opening up under each other’s hands.

After some time, they pulled apart.

“Dean… contrary to how it may have come across,” Castiel murmured, “I do like to take things slowly, most of the time.”

“I can do slowly.”

“You’re sure?”

Dean didn’t know how to explain that if he could, he’d preserve himself in this exact moment like a bug in amber, and just live in it. This exact moment, here, now. All the hope, all the promise. The way Castiel looked at him. The way Dean knew that if he even just tilted his chin up a little, Castiel would kiss him again, like he wanted. He didn’t want to move from this, and exactly this. It filled him up.

“I’m sure,” he said.

They wandered the city until late, far too late. But Dean didn’t want them to go back to their hotels and be alone. When dawn came, it found them sleepy-eyed, looking out over the river, milky in the first light.

“Come back to my room,” Dean said. “Just to sleep.”

And so they went home together. As they would do, from that point on.

#whelvenwingsfic #thebloggerbloggerfun #destiel fic #deancas fic #fluff #fake relationship #awwwwwwwww yeahh #finished that thing i wanted to post yesterday!!! nice

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muchadoaboutbucky · 4 years

Text

Love Thy Neighbor - 1

Set post-Endgame: Bucky’s got a crush on the girl next door.

PAIRING: Bucky x Native American!Reader WARNINGS: slow burn, minor anxieties, eventual smut

read the rest of this series on patreon

“Hey, we got a mission.”

Bucky jerks awake, shoving his hair out of his face. His eyes are heavy with sleep, and the sun’s shining heavy through the thin curtains. Alpine, disturbed by her master’s movements, shoots Sam a glare and curls back up on her pillow, tail curling around her feet.

“What time is it?” Bucky asks blearily.

“Almost nine, you missed your run.” Sam snaps his fingers. “C’mon. Fury wants us to report in ten.”

Bucky grumbles, fighting the urge to burrow back beneath his comforter and fall back asleep. He’d had a hard time falling asleep, eventually drifting off after downing several extra-strong tablets of melatonin that are still trying to work their magic.

He stumbles out of bed, reaching down to graze his metal palm over Alpine’s sleek white fur. The cat purrs lowly and rubs her head against his fingers, and then resumes her nap. In the bathroom, he runs his toothbrush through his mouth with closed eyes and splashes cold water on his face. He doesn’t bother putting on street clothes; he’ll only have to change when they leave the house and his sweats are more comfortable than they need to be.

They get assigned to Paris. A black-market arms dealer is set to sell a truckload of guns and ammunition to a suspected terrorist cell, and with less than two days on the clock until the deal is set to go down, they have to hurry. Luckily, Bucky keeps an emergency go-bag under his bed, and he’s just stepped into his boots when he spies Alpine still snoozing.

Someone needs to keep an eye on her.

“I gotta find someone to watch Alpine,” he says while Sam’s lacing his sneakers in the living room.

“What?” Sam cranes his neck to look up into Bucky’s anxious face. “C’mon, man, she’s a cat. She’ll be fine for a couple days.”

“What if it’s longer than a couple days?” Bucky swallows. “Someone needs to put her food out and change her water.”

“We’ll be back by Thursday.” Sam stands, arms folding across his chest. He only holds firm for a few seconds, until Bucky’s eyes go wide. “Okay…” he gives in, “ask Y/N. Since you didn’t see her this morning, might as well make up for it.”

Bucky’s cheeks go red. He looks down at the floor as Sam passes him on his way to the hallway closet. “I didn’t… she doesn’t—”

“Dude, stop pretending you don’t have one of the biggest crushes of all time, it’s painful.”

Bucky’s gut twists as he pulls his spare key to the apartment from the front pocket of his duffel bag. “I just… she’s nice, that’s all. Not a lotta people look at the guy who used to be the Winter Soldier and think good things, y’know.”

“You got exonerated in a court of law, nobody in their right mind thinks you’re guilty of anything.” Sam heads into the kitchen to grab a protein shake for the jet ride. “Especially Y/N.”

“I know.” Bucky sighs. “I’ll… I’ll be right back, I’ll see if she’s home.”

He drops his bag on the couch and heads out the door. It’s a brisk morning, and he zips his jacket up, tucking his hands in his pockets as he walks to the next door down. His heart is pounding in his chest, because he knows you have a security camera and he doesn’t wanna look like a creep knocking on your door when you’re not home.

Within seconds, however, your door swings open. You’re wearing a baggy AC/DC tee shirt and a pair of leggings… the ends of your hair are wet. You must have just showered.

“Hi, Bucky,” you chirp, flashing him a brilliant smile that makes his knees weak. “I missed you in the park this morning.”

He swallows the sudden dryness in his throat. “Overslept,” he excuses. “Look, I… I hate to put this on you, but my friend and I got called out for a job and we… or I need someone to…”

God it sounds stupid. So, so stupid… he’s a grown man with a cat, what the hell is he doing?

You lean against the doorjamb. “What is it?”

“I was wondering if you could watch Alpine for a few days,” he blurts out. “If you don’t mind, that is.”

“I can do that.” You smile again, and Bucky’s stomach untwists. “When will you be back?”

“Thursday…” Bucky tries as best he can to muster a confident smile as he holds the key out in his flesh palm. “She just takes dry food, her bag is under the kitchen sink.” Bucky’s breath hitches when your fingers graze his skin. “So… I’ll leave a list, I guess…”

“Or you could text me?” You tug your phone from the pocket in your leggings. “What’s your number?”

He can barely speak. He’s been dying to ask for your number for weeks now and here you are just brazenly offering it up. He takes a solid three seconds to remember the digits, and he rattles them off, watching as you type his name into the little section and add one of those little emoticon things… the sun.

“I just sent you something,” you smile, “so you got mine too.”

Bucky almost pukes. “Okay,” he stutters out, “she’s got food and stuff for now, but just later today…”

“Got it.” You slip your phone back into your pocket. “I gotta get ready for work, but I’m off at six. I’ll pop by and feed her.”

“Thanks.” He swallows thickly. “Really, thank you, it means a lot.”

“It’s no problem.” You swipe your tongue over your lower lip. “Have a safe mission, okay?”

He bows his head, trying as hard as he can to stop from blushing. “I will. Thanks again.”

You close the door, and he turns on his heel, hiding a grin in his coat collar as he heads back to his own apartment.

***

The mission goes easier than either of them thought it would. They’re in and out of Paris in less than forty hours, and they take the opportunity of their “undercover-ness” to scout out a few local shops in search of something good to eat and a few souvenirs for their efforts.

Bucky doesn’t shop for himself beyond food. He has no need for little trinkets. Sam can browse all he wants, but Bucky tries to think of something that you might like. One shop has it all: a ton of Eiffel Tower ornaments, candies, T-shirts… at one point he catches himself sniffing tentatively at a lavender-scented soap bar.

No, no way. Way too personal.

In the end, he settles for a little snowglobe. It’s small enough to fit in his bag, and he makes his purchase while Sam’s still trying on sweatshirts.

They get in late on Thursday night, just as Sam predicted. Bucky sends you a text when they land at the airport, and the Avengers’ private car has them back at the complex in no time at all. The light is on in your apartment when Bucky gets to the fourth floor, and as soon as Sam’s vanished into their apartment, he knocks on your door. It only takes a few seconds to answer, and Bucky’s heart catches in his throat when you open the door, beaming up into his face.

“You’re back early,” you say, smiling widely.

“Yeah, uh… mission went quicker than we thought.” Bucky swallows heavily.

“I just filled Alpine’s bowl an hour ago and cleaned out her litter box,” you reply, almost completely unfazed by his awkwardness, “and I bought her a little catnip plant from work, I hope you don’t mind.”

“Oh, you, uh... “ he clears his throat, “you didn’t have to do that, the litter box, I mean, I—”

“It’s no bother, my mom was a veterinarian, I’ve dealt with way worse.” You fumble for something on the little table behind your left knee and hold up the little bronze key. “You might need this back.”

“Thanks.” Bucky pockets it without really thinking—the touch of your hand on his matters more. “Oh, I got something for you,” he blurts out, unzipping the top pocket of his bag and fishes out the little snowglobe. “Just as… well, a thanks.”

You accept the little trinket, blushing furiously. “I love it,” you reply, “thank you.”

God, Bucky wants to kiss you so bad…

“D’you wanna get coffee?” he asks suddenly. “Or see a movie? That is, if you don’t y’know, have someone already, I don’t wanna intrude.”

If possible, your face flushes even more. “I-I’d like that,” you stammer, “a movie sounds good. Um… when are you free?”

“Saturday?” Bucky shrugs. “The place downtown has cheap tickets on Saturdays.”

You nod. “I… I can do that. I get off work at six again.”

Bucky chews on his lower lip. “I’ll come by for eight?”

“That works.” You smile awkwardly. “I, uh… I should probably let you go get some rest, huh?”

“Yeah.” Bucky takes a step back because if he doesn’t make some space he might just kiss you right then and there. “I can text you, yeah?”

“Totally, yeah.” You run your fingers through your hair and match him, stepping back into the little entryway. “I’ll, uh, I’ll see you Saturday, then?”

Bucky nods. “Yeah.”

You close the door, still blushing furiously, and Bucky walks into his apartment thinking of a million ways that could have gone wrong.

“I bet you were smoother than that in ‘43.”

Sam’s standing in the kitchen, smirking as Bucky drops his bag by the door and kicks his boots off.

“Shut up, I’m outta practice.” He shrugs his jacket off and hangs it on the rack. “Did you really hear all that?”

“We’re neighbors, I can hear everything.” Sam grins and pulls fixings for a turkey sandwich from the fridge. “Look, man, you’re trying to fit in. It’s a good thing.”

“I know.” Bucky sighs. “I didn’t even know if she was gonna say yes.”

“Well, she did.” Sam slaps the top layer of bread onto his sandwich and gestures to the plate. “Want one?”

Bucky shakes his head. “If I eat, I’m gonna puke. I’m just gonna go to bed.”

Sam watches him shuffle silently down the hallway and into his room. Alpine’s snoozing on her bed by the window, and she leaps off when Bucky closes the door, eagerly wristing around his ankles and purring happily.

“Hey, girl.” Bucky reaches down to rub his knuckles against the top of her head before changing into a pair of flannel pants. He’s exhausted and stressed, and his chest feels tighter than it should. Sitting on the edge of his bed, he rests his head in his palms, taking long, deep breaths to try and ease the tension. Sensing her master’s distress, Alpine rubs herself against his side, and Bucky only breaks his position to give her a habitual pet across the back before slipping into his bathroom and downing five tablets of melatonin. His system will kick it in within a few minutes, and he slips beneath the covers as Alpine curls up on her designated pillow.

“Everything’s gonna go smooth, right?” he asks. “I can do this. It’s just a girl, nothing to be scared of.”

Reblogs and comments are very much appreciated :)

MARVEL TAGS: @beefcakebarnes @breezy1415 @cosicas-cuquis @mariekoukie6661 @meganwinchester1999 @suz-123

#bucky barnes x reader #bucky x reader #bucky barnes fanfiction #bucky barnes reader insert

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ackermancurse · 5 years

Text

Far From Love [1]

Pairing: Peter Parker x Stark!Reader

Word Count: 4348

Warnings: Far From Home Spoilers!!!, mentions of Tony’s death, FLUFF, small cursing

Summary: Peter has a plan to get you back after your 8 month break: Confess his love to you in Europe. Unfortunately there are some minor setbacks.

AN: I am so so so happy that so many of you have enjoyed the teaser so hopefully this keeps you interested!

add yourself to the taglist

“I have a plan to get y/n back and it’s gonna happen on the trip,” Peter exclaimed to his best friend Ned sliding into the seat next to him. You had been together for 5 months prior to the snap, both being dusted. You guys broke up 2 weeks after your dad’s funeral, you couldn’t look at Peter without seeing your dad. It was too much for you and as much as you wanted to stay with him, the pain was just too fresh and you said you just needed some time and space.

Ned sighs and sets his phone face down on the table, “Peter I thought she told you she would tell you when she’s ready.”

Peter presses his lips tightly together, “Uh yeah well she um did but call me crazy but I-I think she’s ready. Just hasn’t told me yet?” The last part comes out almost like a question and Ned shakes his head.

“I don’t know man… But what’s your plan?”

Peter smiles, “Okay first I’m gonna sit next to y/n on the flight.”

“Second I’m gonna buy a dual headphone adapter and watch movies with her the whole time.”

“Three when we go to Venice--Venice is super famous for making stuff out of glass right?”

“True-” Ned interjects.

“So I’m gonna buy her a black spider necklace because of-”

“How you guys met,” Ned inputs again.

“How we met,” Peter smiles softly before continuing.

“Four when we go to Paris I’m gonna take her to the top of the Eiffel Tower, give her the necklace and then five I’m gonna tell her I love her,” Peter takes a deep breath and leans closer to Ned.

“And then six hopefully she tells me she feels the same way.”

Ned nods and points to Peter’s notebook, “Don’t forget step seven.”

Peter quickly grabs his pen, “Step seven…”

“Don’t do any of that,” the dark skinned boy says and Peter rolls his eyes.

Looking back up to Ned Peter sighs, “Why?”

“Because she needs to tell you she’s ready. I know how much you love her dude but I think there’s a reason why she said she needed some time and space.”

Peter’s head falls into his hands and he rubs his temples. He knows Ned is right but something has been telling him to just go for it. He catches you staring at him at random times in class and instantly look away. He’s seen you come up to talk to him at his locker but walk the other way. He’s seen you typing in your text messages and delete the words quickly.

“Look I really love y/n man. She’s awesome, she’s super funny in a kinda dork way and-” he sees you walking towards him and Ned with MJ. “-shes coming now don’t say anything!”

You walked behind your best friend MJ. You have been telling her for the past 3 months how much you miss Peter. She was the only one who knew that you wanted him back but the amount of times you chickened out on telling him is mindblowing. You were scared it was too soon. You were scared that because of your time apart Peter stopped liking you.

“Whaddup dorks? Excited about the science trip?” MJ asked and you tried to hide your embarrassment as much as possible.

Peter sees you and his breath hitches. You looked even more beautiful than yesterday, you always looked more beautiful than the day before to Peter. He smiles at you and you smile back.

“Hey uh yeah we’re just talking about the trip,” Peter looks to Ned for help.

“Yeah and Peter’s plan!” You look at Peter curiously and Peter’s face scrunches up. Peter wanted to hide in a hole at that exact moment.

“You have a plan?” MJ asks the question you were wondering.

Your attention all on Peter and he feels his mouth become dry, “I don’t-- I don’t have a plan.”

“No he’s just gonna collect tiny spoons while we’re traveling to other countries,” Ned winks discreetly to Peter thinking he saved the day.

Peter’s head droops down, “Like- Like a grandmother?” MJ questions with a laugh.

“I’m not collecting tiny spoons-” Peter starts but you cut him off.

“Because he collects postcards from wherever he goes. Sent me one from Germany a couple years ago.”

Peter smiles at you and you tuck your hair behind your ear. You feel yourself blush. Peter Parker still made you feel the same way when you first met him.

MJ looks to you with a knowing look and laughs again, “Well anyways that was a rollercoaster of emotions so we’re just gonna go… By the way travel tip, you should probably download a VPN on your phone just so the government can’t track you while we’re abroad.”

She walks off but you stay standing in front of the table twiddling your thumbs.

“Nice seeing you Peter,” you say with a soft grin before walking away and patting Ned on the shoulder.

“N-nice seeing you too y/n,” he replies back and watches you leave and look over your shoulder giving a small wave before disappearing into the hallway.

He sighs with a smile across his face. He was going to get you back.

The next day before the big trip, Peter packed up all his Star Wars toys that adorned his room and placed them carefully into a big box. He was able to calculate how much money he’d get if he sold them and it was the perfect amount for the necklace he planned to buy you.

He lugged around the large cardboard box 10 blocks from his apartment to a store that was willing to buy his figurines for crazy numbers.

Well crazy numbers for a highschooler.

As he was setting each figurine down onto the counter the guy at the register only had one question, “Why are you selling these now when you could wait a couple more years so they’re worth more?” He slurped on a Cherry Coke.

Peter gave a side smile setting down the last one, “I found the one… She deserves something special. I’d rather have her now and forever rather than a million of those figurines.”

Later that night Aunt May walked into Peter’s room to say goodnight and before she closed his door she paused. Something was different. She looked around his room. Huh, no more Star Wars?

“Hey Peter what happened to all your Star Wars stuff?”

Peter sat up in his bed and reached to his bedside table to grab his wallet. He showed her a large stack of cash and she sat at the edge of his bed wide eyed.

“Wh-What’s all this money for?” She counts it and her jaw drops.

“Uh I’m planning on getting y/n back by the end of the trip. I-I’m gonna tell her I love her.”

May hands the money back to her nephew and watches as he carefully places it back into his wallet. A spiderman wallet. What a jokester.

She saw the look in his eyes when he said your name. She knew that he adored you with his whole being. She knew he was absolutely gutted when you guys called it quits. She heard his sniffles that night and watched him slug around the house for a solid week.

You were good for him. You brought him out of his shell. You truly brought out the best in him.

She smiled and grabbed his hand, “She’s a lucky girl Peter.”

He shakes his head, “No I’m the lucky guy.”

The following morning Peter could hardly contain his anxious thoughts. He rushed around his bedroom picking which shirts to bring. He brought each shirt that you said you loved on him when you guys were dating. He made sure to bring your favorite hoodie just in case things went according to plan then you could wear it on the trip back home.

As they neared the airport Peter’s leg bounced up and down in the passenger seat while he rubbed his hands together. Wow he was seeing you in less than 10 minutes.

“Peter everything is gonna go fine! Don’t worry too much,” May soothed her anxious nephew while pulling into a parking spot.

The engine shuts off and Peter lets out the biggest sigh ever, “I hope you’re right May… I really do love her and I want us to happen again.”

Peter walks through check-in and that’s when he sees you. He feels his chest tighten and its like you literally take his breath away.

You were wearing one of his old jackets over a regular t-shirt and some jeans. Your hair was up and out of your face. You had no makeup on but you didn’t need it anyways, that’s what Peter thought at least.

Deep in your conversation, MJ nods her head in a sly manner looking behind you and you turn to see Peter. His pupils were dilated largely, neither of you could see it, but they were. Clear sign of being in love. This boy was head over heels for you. He had it bad.

“Oh god he knows I’m wearing his jacket,” you whisper to MJ and feel yourself blush, “I always felt so stupid not giving it back to him but I also couldn’t give it back. I needed it with me. It was the closest thing I had to him.”

MJ rolls her eyes and walks towards Peter leaving you stunned but you drag your feet behind her, “MJ!” you whisper yell, “MJ what the hell are you do-- Hi Peter!”

There you were. Now standing in front of your ex that you desperately wanted back.

You kept it. 8 months later and you kept it. A random zip-up jacket that you borrowed when you were over at his place studying for a chemistry test. If Peter wasn’t already deeply in love with you before he definitely was now.

“H-Hey y/n,” Peter’s heart was beating so hard that he thought it was going to break through his chest. God why were his hands so sweaty?

MJ looked between the two ex-lovers, “So I’m gonna go use the bathroom before we head on the plane.”

You shoot her a look, ‘You better not leave me alone. Not right now.’

She shrugs her shoulders and turns to walk towards the bathroom.

You laugh nervously, “Typical MJ huh?”

Peter locks eyes with you and now it was your turn to hold your breath. He was wearing a blue flannel with a matching blue jacket over top. A strand of his hair drooped against his forehead before he rushed to set it back into place.

“Yeah totally. So uh how have you-- how have you been?” Peter stuffs his hands into his pockets and you switch your balance from your heels to the balls of your feet.

“I’ve been good. Can’t complain too much I’ve just watched Morgan everyday after school so,” you attempt to look everywhere except Peter’s eyes. Not the big brown eyes.

Peter chuckles, “Man I miss that little rugrat.” Do you miss me?

You laugh this time too, “Don’t worry she misses you too. Made sure to remind me to say hi to you… Courtesy of her.”

A silence looms over the two of you. Where’s MJ when you need her?

“Hey guys are you ready for this trip?” Ned exclaims and the two of you sigh. Saved by the best friend.

When MJ finally finds you again you’re sitting on the ground in front of the boarding area with your hood-- Peter’s hood-- over your head.

Why are you so stupid y/n? It’s just Peter. That’s the point, it’s Peter.

MJ sits on the ground next to you with a quiet laugh, “Now that-- that was beautiful to watch.”

You give her a glare but she continues to laugh, “Ha ha very funny. Set up the exes so they have to talk to each other. Well played MJ.”

She shakes her head and grabs a banana out of her bag, “Hate me all you want but you know that it felt good to actually speak more than two words to him. So I believe I deserve a thank you,” she takes a bite out of her now freshly peeled banana.

As much as you hate to admit it she was right. It felt so good to finally talk to Peter again. All those old feelings came back.

“Thank you,” you mumble with your hand in front of your mouth.

“Hm what was that I couldn’t quite hear you?” Liar.

“Thank you,” you say again but turn your head away from your best friend.

“I didn’t catch that sorry what?” MJ you’re the worst.

“THANK YOU!” you let out and she had the cockiest grin on her face.

She laughs again, “You’re welcome.”

On the opposite side of that same area Peter and Ned were discussing video games.

Well Ned was. Peter was still thinking about you.

“Hello earth to Peter?” Ned asks while waving a hand in front of his best friend’s face.

He finally looks at him, “What? Sorry Ned I have a lot... on my mind.”

Ned looks to where Peter is looking and follows it to see you laughing with MJ while you watch something on her phone, sharing earbuds.

Peter had a small grin on his face as he watched your nose crinkle when you laughed. Wow he missed hearing your laugh.

Ned sighs.

“Alright talk to me,” he closes his laptop and shoves it back into his backpack.

If he starts talking he’s not gonna be able to stop.

He starts small.

“She’s wearing--” Peter starts and looks at you throw your head back in laughter, “She’s wearing my old jacket.”

Ned looks to you. Well look at that you were.

That’s when Ned smiles a little. He remembers Peter wearing that jacket.

“How’d your conversation go before I interrupted? Sorry about that by the way,” Ned opens a pack of fruit snacks and offers Peter the bag.

Peter takes a few. Smiling when he sees his hand is filled with the red ones. Those were your favorite. Peter’s too but he would let you have all the red ones in the pack every time.

“Well it went uh pretty good but I was nervous as hell. It was our first time having a full conversation since the breakup. She looks prettier today right? Like it’s crazy how pretty she looks today,” Peter continues to stare at you while you pick out the purple and orange fruit snacks from your bag and hand them to MJ. He laughs to himself.

‘That’s my girl.’

“Dude its normal to be nervous when you talk to an ex don’t worry. How did she seem when she talked to you?” Ned crumpled the empty bag and tossed it into a nearby trash can.

That’s when Peter finally looked at Ned, “She seemed nervous too,” he remembers how you were fumbling with the sleeves of your jacket-- his jacket-- and switching your balance.

You did that all the time before Peter asked you to be his girlfriend. You did that when you first noticed your crush on him.

Peter’s heart leapt in his chest.

Does she want me back too?

Boarding the plane was when Peter felt like he could throw up. This was it. A long, long flight to Venice. He checked his back pocket and felt the dual headphone adapter.

He had Ned help him with a booger check.

He sat next to Ned in their seats and watched as more people boarded the plane.

Everything was going smoothly until, “Yo Parker this is called an airplane. It’s like the busses you’re used to except it flies over the poor neighborhoods instead of driving through them.”

Flash. Ugh.

Is that champagne he’s holding?

You roll your eyes when you hear Flash’s comment. Typical.

“Ma’am he blipped so technically he’s 16. Not 21,” you call down the flight attendant. Flash gives you a glare.

“I’ll take that,” she says and grabs his cup.

Flash shakes his head at you but you just laugh. You don’t mess with my boyfr- Peter.

“She’s lying! I don’t even know this girl!” He rushes to follow the poor lady.

You face Peter and give him a small smile.

You nod your head and continue down the line.

Peter feels himself unable to breathe again.

“Classic y/n right?” a deep voice says and Peter turns his gaze to him.

Brad Davis.

Brad didn’t get snapped so he grew 5 years older.

Peter hated to admit it but he was ripped.

He knew tons of the girls in school were after him. But he pretended like they weren’t

Brad followed in pursuit behind you and he feels his jaw clench.

He rolls his eyes.

“Did you know Brad was coming?” Peter asks Ned after he passes.

“Man it’s so weird. One day he’s that little kid who cried and got nosebleeds all the time and suddenly we blip back and he’s totally ripped and super nice. And all the girls are after him,” they both watch as you struggle to place your carryon perfectly on top.

Brad helps you and adjusts other luggage and you smile at him.

He smiles back.

Oh no. Not you.

“Not all the girls are after him,” Peter tries to brush off.

Please not you.

“No man… They’re all after him.” Thanks Ned. Thanks a lot for that.

Peter feels his heart break a little when he hears you laugh.

You laugh because of Brad. He said something funny and you gave him one of your genuine laughs.

Please for the love of god not you too.

Peter stays watching at the two of you. He couldn’t tear his eyes away.

“Anyways onto more important things. It’s a nine hour flight. We can play Beast’s Lair the whole time,” Ned pulls out his laptop again.

Peter sees you take a seat behind Brad.

Nope he wasn’t having it.

He needed to sit next to you. Talk to you.

Watch the movies that he knew you liked.

This was his time. It was now or never.

“I need your help to sit next to y/n,” Peter whispers to his best friend and Ned sighs.

Not this again Peter.

“Seriously?” Ned asks.

Peter looks at him surprised, “Yes, seriously.”

“What about y/n? She said she would tell you when she’s ready. You don’t wanna push too hard Peter,” Ned continues and he looks at you again.

He sees you giggle with MJ and Betty.

“I just need to know if my instincts are right,” he watches as you fix your hair, “please.”

Ned rolls his eyes for the millionth time. Poor poor Peter.

He had it really bad.

“Ugh fine… But you owe me,” Ned picks up his things and heads over to your row.

Peter doesn’t really pay attention to what is being said.

He’s too nervous to listen.

He just looks at you.

He sees you look over to him and shake your head with a smile.

Oh god what did Ned say?

Next thing you know it Mr. Harrington is moving people around.

“Ned take MJ’s spot. MJ take y/n’s. And y/n take mine Peter you come with me! No Perfume allergies on my watch,” Peter is shocked.

He watches as you slip next to Brad.

It feels like he was shot in the heart.

You giggle as you try to get through the little space you had.

Mr. Harrington starts walking towards the back of the plane and Peter grumbles.

Not exactly the person he wanted to be sitting next to.

As he grips onto his backpack in a fist he catches your eye.

He looked annoyed as he argued with Ned using only his eyes.

You knew Peter didn’t have a perfume allergy.

Pollen allergy sure. Really bad allergies during the first few weeks of spring. But perfume allergy? Not a chance.

What was he up to? Did he just want to finish your conversation from earlier?

You give him a smile and give him a knowing look. His face blushes red and he shrugs.

‘I tried,’ he mouthed and walked to where Mr. Harrington was.

You giggle and Brad looks at you.

Yeah Brad was attractive but he wasn’t Peter.

You could tell from a million miles away Brad had a crush on you. It was painfully obvious.

Unfortunately for him you didn’t feel the same way. Especially not after today.

You had eyes for Peter and only Peter.

“Wanna watch a movie?” Brad asks and you direct your attention to the boy sitting next to you.

He held a dual headphone adapter between his fingers.

You shrug, “Sure. Can we watch a comedy though?”

Peter hated seeing you so close to Brad.

Not that he didn’t think you can have guy friends because go for it. Have all the guy friends you want.

But knowing Brad, he didn’t like how this was going.

The world-- no, no-- the universe was against you two.

Mr. Harrington was blabbering on and on about his ex wife and Peter felt bad that he wasn’t paying attention but he couldn’t stop looking at you.

You laughed loudly and tried to cover it up using your hand. Brad looked at you and you leaned in closer to the screen in front of Brad. Your head inches away from his shoulder that you could almost just rest it there.

Peter felt the anger and jealousy boil up inside of him.

Green doesn’t look good on you Peter.

Peter felt a head against his shoulder and Mr. Harrington had fallen asleep.

Great. Just perfect. Thank you universe.

Scrolling through the movies he sees him. Your dad.

He feels his heart stop.

He quickly looks back up to you, still laughing away.

Did you see the movie too? If you did, did Brad at least quickly scroll past it so you wouldn’t feel the pain?

Peter missed Mr. Stark. God he really missed him.

He missed when he would pick on him every time he was over at your place.

“Parker remember don’t break my baby girl’s heart or else…” Tony would always say.

In the beginning it would freak him the hell out. But once he saw you more and more he just took it as he pleased. Tony and Peter knew that he would never do anything to hurt you.

He was a good kid.

The seatbelt light came off and Peter climbed over his fast asleep teacher who he had pushed away a while ago.

When he walked out of the tiny airplane bathroom he saw you. You smiled and out of nervousness he walks back into the confined place and shuts the door.

He instantly goes full panic mode and literally cleans the entire restroom. Just for you.

Wiping the toilet, the sink, the mirror, everything.

He flushes the toilet again and washes his hands.

He spends a little too long on his hair and smiles in the mirror.

Before opening the door, he takes a deep breath. This was it. An interaction that could at least hold him through to the end of the flight.

He opens the door and doesn’t see you but Brad.

Ugh.

His face falls but Brad’s has a smile plastered from ear to ear. Of course he was smiling. He was sitting next to the prettiest girl in the world.

“Man y/n is so funny. You were a lucky guy Peter,” Brad mentions before entering the tiny bathroom.

“Yup. I was a lucky guy,” Peter gritted through his fake smile and watches Brad close the door.

He throws his hands up in frustration. He can’t catch a break can he?

That’s when the next door bathroom opens and he’s facing you again.

“Well this seems familiar,” you joke and Peter laughs.

God you were so pretty.

Peter wished he could kiss you right now.

“Sorry about that… H-How was your movie?” Peter asks and you look down at the floor.

“It was good. Really funny. We should watch it together next time,” you add and don’t notice you say next time.

But Peter does and he feels his stomach do flips.

He smiles a big smile.

That’s when he feels the question that was on his mind the most since he saw the selection of movies.

“Did you see-”

You cut him off, “Y-Yeah.”

You knew it was coming. Brad saw it, glanced at you quickly and continued skipping through the movies. You saw it and felt your chest become heavy. And Peter saw it and wondered if you were okay.

“It was hard seeing his face but it was almost like he was telling me have a safe flight ya know? Well at least that’s what I-I think at least,” you see Peter’s face and regret saying the last part, “Nevermind that was stupid.”

You squeeze past him but he grabs your wrist out of instinct. You look back at him.

There they were. Those damn butterflies. Those damn sparks.

It’s the first time you guys had any physical interaction in 8 months.

He instantly lets go and coughs clearing his throat, “It wasn’t stupid,” you see it in his eyes and hear it in his voice that he meant it. You smiled.

“Just talk to me if you need to alright… I’m just a few rows back and I could use some saving from Mr. Harrington’s stories,” you laugh and give him a nod.

“Thanks Pete,” you head back to your seat and Peter feels like he can do a flip right now.

Pete. You called him Pete. The name you started using when you guys made your relationship official.

He really missed that name.

Tag list: @hollandcharm // @ghostlysweetsturtle // @imagine-lovebug // @squishychar1ie

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thenovelartist · 5 years

Text

An Impromptu Proposal, 7-8

<<Previous Next>>

7. Bad Luck Charm

He was a bad luck magnet.

Looking over the Ladyblog, Adrien saw the news of Ladybug and Chat Noir’s engagement was spreading like wildfire to the point that people were insisting upon throwing them a wedding.

He thought it was a joke, but the more he looked into it, the more he realized people seemed to be very serious about it.

While he was flattered and would happily be on the planning committee if Butterlie and Mayura didn’t exist, he did have two—actually, it really was only dealing with Lila at this point because Mayura was MIA most of the time, which raised a whole new set of questions—villains he had to fight on a pretty regular basis. And this was only going to bring them out in full force. He would take any opportunity to catch them that he was offered, but in this case, that meant they would strike a highly populated area, AKA the wedding guests.

Meaning this whole thing had to be shut down, like, yesterday.

Adrien pulled up his app to text Ladybug, hoping she was available. You there, bugaboo?

It took her a moment to respond. Lunch break’s got 15 minutes. What’s up, kitty?

You see the wedding chaos on the Ladyblog?

Yup, she answered. It’s not pretty. That will only end poorly.

I know. That ring’s a bad luck charm. Any ideas on how to shut this chaos down?

My ring is not a bad luck charm!

The picture that followed showed a selfie with the top half of her head cropped out, but clearly showed her red lips tilted up in a smile and black, fitted shirt—or it could be a dress—with her ring on a chain that rested right at her breasts.

I have to hide it down my dress front or people will ask, but I want to wear it. It’s from you.

Adrien’s heart pounded in his chest, his stomach full of butterflies. Honestly, there was nothing more he wanted at the moment than to take that woman in his arms and kiss her senseless. She wore her ring in public. That gave him hope that maybe their engagement wouldn’t be too long. That maybe she was considering sharing her identity with him sooner rather than later. Though he’d happily wait for her, he wanted to make her his wife already.

That warms my heart, bug. He typed out, not knowing what else to say.

XOXO I love you, kitty.

I love you more.

Not possible.

Totally possible.

Back to the wedding chaos, she typed, because you aren’t going to win this one, do you have any plans, or is this all on me.

I’ve had that ring for three years. I win. And of course, it’s not all on you. Your partner is more than happy to share the burden.

There was a long pause for her response. Three years?

Adrien grinned. Yes. Do you want to know the date, because I remember it vividly.

Another pause. I don’t know why I’m surprised. This is you. You’re extra.

Because it’s YOU and YOU deserve it ;D

How’d I fall for you?

Well, you came flying through the sky one day and fell on me. You tell me.

You’re such a dork.

YOUR dork.

I regret accepting your proposal.

Adrien sniggered, knowing how much she meant that. Says the woman wearing the engagement ring I gave her on her neck.

Another silence. Uh oh. I might have to jet early.

Go. I don’t want to hold you up.

Sorry, kitty.

He then got two photos in rapid succession. One of her fingers pressed to her lips, and the other of her blowing something off her hand.

He smiled. She was blowing him a kiss.

Love you! I’ll be thinking of what to do about the wedding thing when I have a spare moment.

Quickly as he could, he took two pictures making a show of catching that kiss and holding it against his heart. Love you too. And don’t worry too much about it now. We can figure something out later.

I’d just like to nip this in the bud. She shot back. GTG TTYL.

ttyl

Adrien set down his phone, stupid smile plastered on his face. No, it wasn’t exactly a productive conversation, but it certainly lifted his spirits today to see his Ladybug. Particularly when she was sending him photos.

He reached for his phone again, opening the app just to look at the two pictures. He saved them, setting the one of her blowing a kiss towards him as his home screen wallpaper. He’d love to set it as the lock screen one, but considering no one knew about her yet, he just couldn’t take the chance of someone seeing

A knock came from his door, startling him, yet he called out “come in.”

He was surprised to see Marinette there. He had to do a double take, seeing her red lips and black dress that looked a little too much like his lady.

“We have a problem.”

Adrien completely deflated. “Wonderful. Just the words I wanted to hear today.”

“You think I wanted to tell you?” she asked, giving him a curious once over that was almost quick enough to miss.

“Probably not because it sounds like it’s going to be more work for you,” he said, ignoring it.

She scoffed. “You got that right. Follow me?”

He sighed, then stood. “Why not. I didn’t have enough bad luck today. Let’s go.”

8. Homework

“Called us in to help with homework, huh?”

Ladybug turned around to see Rena Rouge approach with Carapace not far behind.

“Yeah,” Ladybug said. “A certain reporter caused us some serious trouble.”

Rena sniggered and tossed her hands in the air. “Guilty as charged. But in my defense, I didn’t think that it would cause as big of a stir as it did. Specifically, in Paris’s sudden ‘let’s throw a wedding for them’ desire. And you know my rules—”

“If we don’t want it on the Ladyblog, do it out of the suit,” Ladybug said, recalling that specific conversation with Alya.

“Exactly. So, sorry if Chat’s gonna propose in camera distance on the freaking Eiffel Tower.”

Ladybug sighed, rubbing her eyes. “No, it’s… You’re right. We were stupid. Frankly, neither of us were thinking at the moment.”

“So, the proposal was a spur of the moment thing?” Rena asked, looking rather excited at the prospect.

Ladybug leveled Rena with a glare. “Off-the-record?”

Standing like a soldier, Rena held up her hand. “Off-the-record, will not hit the blog.”

At least Marinette could trust Alya with that. “It started as us joking around and then all of a sudden, Chat’s saying things like ‘yeah, well, I actually have a ring’ and I was in shock and didn’t believe him, and then he was all ‘yeah, I’ll go get it’ and next thing you know… well, you were there.”

Rena squealed, doing a little happy dance. “Ugh! My ship is sailing. I couldn’t be any happier unless I was getting married.”

Ladybug snorted as she glanced over at Carapace’s face. He shot her a wink, not knowing that she was the woman he came crawling to not two days ago begging for help ring shopping.

“So, you and Chat are actually getting married?” Rena asked. “Like, soon? Or…”

Ladybug shrugged. “We don’t know. We really just… don’t want it to be a hazard or an event that Lila or Mayura can take advantage of. The important thing is that we shut it all down. We’ll marry in private.”

In that moment, Chat and Queen Bee arrived.

“About time,” Carapace teased. “Thought I was gonna be the only guy here.”

“Sorry for leaving you to the girls,” Chat teased back, giving Carapace a fist bump. If Ladybug were being honest, as much as she loved having Chat to herself, she could tell how important it was for Chat to have a bro-friend. She bet he and Nino would get along swimmingly in real life. Heck, Chat would probably get along with Adrien, too. From the sounds of it, Chat needed as many solid friends and as much support as he could get in his life.

“So what’s the big deal?” Queen Bee sassed. “You and Chat can have the wedding, we patrol it, and by the time that any serious problem arises, you’re both happily married. So you may not be able to go on a honeymoon or anything, but I could help plan a getaway in or around Paris for you. Close enough, right?”

Ladybug never knew how to read Queen Bee. She had such an attitude and didn’t seem to know what a filter was, yet it was clear she cared. Sometimes, Marinette wondered if she could possibly become friends with whoever Queen Bee was in real life like she was with Alya or Nino. “Yeah, but what about the people who gather for the wedding? Wouldn’t it be best to just stop this so there isn’t some large conglomerate of people for Butterlie to attack?”

“Who said anything about there being anyone attending that wedding other than someone to broadcast it?” Queen Bee snipped, shocking everyone in attendance. “Do you really think it’s a good idea to let anyone near you when you and Chat were getting married? It’s called ‘a safety hazard’. You and Chat are famous. If there were people actually in attendance, you’d have to pull the whole police force to keep the crowd down and the crazy fans away. Puh-lease. That would just be a mess. No. It’s best if you just figure out where to hold a wedding, have the Ladyblogger broadcast it because at least she knows how to be respectful of the fact you’re getting married and won’t be yammering or trying to swarm you the moment the wedding’s over. Simple enough.”

There was a shocked silence on the rooftop. If Ladybug were being honest, she wasn’t exactly sure how to process this. She was expecting them to come up with reasons to not have any wedding, yet…

“That’s genius!” Rena cried. “And we could hide the location and everything until the last moment and not have to worry about anyone. I never would have even thought of that.”

“Exactly,” Queen Bee said with a proud smile. “None of you know what it’s like to be famous like I do, so of course I’d come up with a solution.”

Ahh, there’s the Queen Bee we’ve come to know and love.

While Rena and Queen Bee started duking it out with Carapace reluctantly getting in the middle to separate the girls, Chat sided up to Ladybug. “So, it sounds like our plan to talk people out of throwing us a wedding is a bust,” he whispered.

“Queen Bee won’t let that go, will she?” Ladybug said.

“From the sounds of it, Rena won’t want to, either.”

Ladybug hummed. “So… we’re getting married, it sounds like.”

He chuckled, resting his chin on her shoulder while his hands fell on her hips. “You make that sound like it’s a bad thing, bug. You were the one to accept that ring, after all.”

“That’s true,” she said, shifting a half step back closer to him. Besides, it wasn’t like they had to get married in real life yet. This was all a show. Make the public happy, raise morale. Have a little fun in doing it.

Chat kissed her cheek. “I think maybe we should break that up,” he said, motioning toward the fight Carapace was literally in the middle of now.

“For Carapace’s sake,” Ladybug agreed. “Yeah, we probably should.”

#miraculous ladybug #fanfiction #LadyNoir July 2019 #LadyNoir #fluff #these two clueless dorks #theyr'e gonna kill us all #marinette dupain cheng #adrien agreste #ladybug #chat noir #rena rouge #carapace #Queen Bee

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ellewritesathing · 4 years

Text

When in Rome ... or Paris - I.L.

Summary: When in Rome, do as the Romans do. And when in front of the Eiffel Tower, do as the hundreds of other tourists do. Except you didn’t have anyone to take stupidly romantic pictures with like the other tourists did. So what’s the harm in asking the cute Parisian boy to help you out?

Wordcount: 1.4k+

A/N: Based on this post by hoechloin. Hope you guys enjoy!!

Your trip to Paris was almost everything you could have wanted: window shopping with your friends, touring The Louvre, all the pastries you could eat, and a very cute brunette that you kept running into. Almost. The problem was that you saw a post from one of your old crushes making out with someone new back home.

And it didn’t help that practically everyone on this stupid school trip was having a summer fling. You could totally have a summer fling if you wanted to. It’s just that you hadn’t found the right guy, you kept telling yourself, and you didn’t want to have a fling with someone who would be on the flight back with you.

No, you decided, if you were having a fling with anyone then it would be the cute guy with the curly hair that you’d probably never see again.

Except that you did see him again. In front of the Eiffel Tower. When everyone was taking those dumb couple photos for their social media feeds. And he looked so perfect standing there, talking about art with one of the street painters.

Okay, you thought, it’s now or never.

So you strode over, intent on being perfectly and effortlessly charming … only to trip on a gap in the pavement. You fell - practically head first - and landed a few feet in front of him.

“Oh, my god. Are you okay?”

You looked up to find him rushing over and bending down to check on you.

“That was a pretty rough fall. Do you need any help?” he asked.

“Wait, you’re American?” you asked. The words tumbled out before you could stop them. As if you didn’t have enough embarrassment to deal with from your wipeout, you now got to add these eloquent first words to it.

He didn’t seem to mind, though. He actually laughed. And he had dimples when he laughed like that, which only served to melt your heart even more.

“From California, actually,” he said, reaching up to touch the top of your head. “I’m guessing if you can tell I’m not French, then you probably don’t have a concussion.”

“Probably,” you said with a smile. It still felt your cheeks were on fire and you were pretty sure that you were shaking.

He pulled his hand away after a few seconds and stood up, holding it out again to help you up. You took it and got up as carefully as you could so you wouldn’t fall again. Holding his hand and looking into eyes, you searched desperately for something to say so you could spend more time with him.

“So what brings you so far from home?” you asked. Because everyone loves to talk about why they left their hometown.

“I actually moved here about a year back,” he said. He was still holding your hand, so maybe this was going better than expected. “And you?”

His hand was warm and you’d finally stopped shaking. Things were looking up. “School trip,” you said.

“Your school sounds way better than mine was,” he laughed. There was something about the way he laughed that wasn’t there before. A hint of sadness. But he recovered quickly, giving you a dashing smile as he asked, “So how long are you still here for?”

“Maybe a few more days,” you said, shrugging. “Truth be told, I don’t really keep up with the itinerary.”

“Right.”

He drew the word out as he looked just over your head. As much as you didn’t want it to, his distraction probably meant that he’d be leaving soon. If you were going to make your move, then this was your only chance.

“Look, I know this is going to sound really weird,” you started, “And you definitely don’t have to say yes but, um, everyone here is having this super romantic Parisian getaway and I- well, I’m not. So would you mind kissing me while someone takes a photo of us?”

His eyes snapped back to you and he was frowning slightly. A hand had nervously shot up to the back of his head. “Uh, come again?”

“That’s totally okay!” You tore your hand away from his and started backing away. He just wanted to make sure you didn’t have a traumatic brain injury and you propositioned him. What were you thinking? “I messed up. Don’t worry about-”

That particular crack in the pavement seemed to have it out for you. You tumbled backward and braced to crash into the floor again when something stopped you. Strong arms wrapped around you and kept you from falling.

You looked up, kind of breathless, to find your American stranger in Paris looking down at you. Before you could say anything, he pressed his lips into yours and gave what was possibly the best, most heart-stopping kiss of your life.

“- it,” you whispered when he helped you back to your feet, arms still around them. “Don’t worry about it.”

“So you want a kiss like that?” he asked. He was smiling and lifted a hand to move some hair out of your face that came undone when you tripped.

“Yeah,” you exhaled and tried to steady yourself. You were still in his arms, hands against his chest, and just as close as you’d been a second before. “But maybe in front of a camera next time.”

“Yeah, I don’t really think we have to worry about that.”

He laughed as he looked around at the small crowd of your peers that gathered around. Your best friend had pushed their way to the front, grinning at you and holding up a thumb while clutching her phone. You laughed and hid your face in his shoulder.

“Thanks for catching me,” you said softly, looking back up at him.

“Yeah, no problem,” he smiled. “But maybe next time you should try falling for me in the metaphorical sense though.”

You learned that his name was Isaac by the end of the night and that he’d gone to Beacon Hills High when he was still in California - which wasn’t even half an hour away from where you grew up. He played lacrosse, worked in a bookstore, hated small spaces, and loved all the same music you did. And over the next few days, you spent almost all of your available time with him, taking whatever photographic evidence you needed to remind yourself that this was all real.

You needed that reminder as he stood with you in front of the bus that was currently being filled in by your classmates and would take you to the airport. He’d even given you one of his hoodies to remember him by … which you may or may not have been wearing at that current moment.

“So this goodbye, huh?” you asked.

Isaac raised your hand to his lips and kissed it before saying, “Unless you wanna sneak out the back and stay awhile?”

“As much as I’d love that, I think my parents would set the full force of the FBI on France if I don’t come home,” you joked.

“I don’t think the FBI has jurisdiction here,” he said, furrowing his brow.

“I think you might be right about that.”

You laughed and leaned up to kiss him one last time before heading home. Unfortunately, your phone decided that it was the perfect time to send you a string of alerts.

“You, uh, you need to get that?” Isaac asked, looking down to where your phone sat in your hand.

“Sorry,” you said sheepishly. “It’ll just take a second.”

is that isaac lahey???

omg i knew you were heading to paris but wow 👀

hey, i know you knew isaac! you guys make a cute couple!!

“Hey, what’s wrong?” Isaac asked, pulling one of the drawstrings down and letting snap back up to your face. You scrunched up your nose and swatted it away.

“Technically, nothing’s wrong,” you said as you pocketed your phone so you could run a hand through his hair. “But did you happen to know Scott McCall and Stiles Stilinski while you were at Beacon Hills?”

“Unfortunately, I did know Stiles. And Scott is … he’s a long story,” he sighed. He shook his head and smiled at you again. “And you’ve got a flight to catch.”

“Well, you’ve got my number,” you said. You leaned up and pressed a kiss to his lips. “Maybe you can tell me about it sometime.”

“Yeah, I’d like that.”

#isaac lahey #isaac lahey x reader #isaac lahey fanfiction #isaac lahey imagine #everything is alright!au #teen wolf

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p-artsypants · 4 years

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Longest Night (23) Rocking

And Marinette had thought Highschool had been hard. Right now, in this moment, she'd give anything to go back to those petty arguments and gossip fueled drama. But she couldn't. Instead, she and Adrien were trapped here, being punished, humiliated, tortured, for being heroes, all broadcasted for the world to see. At least she and her kitty were in this together. For now. Whump!Fic

Ao3 | FF.net

I’m very musically minded. I was voted ‘Most Likely to Break Out Into Song’ in Highschool. So it’s no surprise when I have a songfic chapter. I had a similar chapter in my previous ML fic ‘Nine Lives’ where Jagged performs. I’ve always thought Jagged Stone’s music would sound a lot like Radiohead, despite his name being a pun on the Rolling Stones.

Song list and link to playlist at the end of the chapter.

—

Four weeks earlier

Luka was four hours late coming home from work. As a delivery driver, work was often impeded by akuma attacks. As it was, Paris had yet to be given the all clear from the newest akuma, a wreck ball man who was causing absolute chaos through the town. As it grew later and later, Luka’s boss decidedly sent him home, with the warning to be careful.

So Luka biked home. In a city as big as Paris, as accustomed it was to Akumas, people were still out and about, rushing to get where they needed to go. There was no slowing down.

It helped keep life to some sort of normality.

When Luka arrived back home, he parked his bike and headed inside.

“Home, ma!” He called.

“Aye laddie! About time! I’ll warm up yer dinner.”

Luka sat on the couch, catching his breath from his rushed trip home. “Where’s Jules?”

“Oh!” called Anarka, with a gasp. “Her and Rose went off with their classmates! Seems Marinette’s gone missing!”

Luka was back on his feet and hurrying into his shoes. “Where did they go? I’ll catch up with them!”

“You’ll do no such thing! You’re going to eat your dinner, and then you’ll wait here. I was worried sick having you both out there with that akuma still on the loose!”

“The akuma hasn’t been seen in several hours,” he pleaded. “Come on ma, you know how much I like Marinette!”

“Butt! Chair! Now!”

Luka did as his mother instructed, but not without crossing his arms in protest.

As he waited, he flicked on the TV. The cooking channel was on. He didn’t much care about cooking, but he didn’t feel like watching anything else.

Any news about Marinette? He texted his sister.

Then it was back to waiting, his foot tapping too quickly, and his eyes darting between the TV and his phone.

Five minutes passed before Juleka texted back, ‘No, Adrien is missing too.’

He was already feeling sick to his stomach, but a knot coiled in his gut. He couldn’t help but feel like their disappearance wasn’t just a coincidence.

Think positive. He told himself. Maybe Adrien finally opened his eyes, and they’re together, and just lost track of time.

Luka knew what was going on at school. Juleka had told him, confessing that Lila’s story didn’t sit right with her. It sure as hell sounded like utter garbage to him. Marinette had been forced to confess her crush in front of her class, in front of Adrien.

That had to have been painful, and Luka bemoaned the fact he wasn’t in her grade. He would have protected her from this! He would have done something!

“Here ya go, boy-o. Hot soup!” Anarka handed him a tray with a bowl and a baguette.

“Thanks ma.”

Still not hungry, Luka stirred the soup with his spoon, unable to do anything else.

He felt useless. Utterly useless.

Suddenly, the TV turned to static, the show cutting out.

“Damn antenna…” he muttered as he lifted the tray off his lap.

The picture came back, but there was a woman with reflective sunglasses instead.

“Good evening Paris. Please excuse me for interrupting whatever pointless drivel you were consumed with. My name is Salo. I’m not an akuma, but you’ll soon wish I was. I have succeeded where all the others have failed.” She stepped back to show Ladybug and Chat Noir, bound and gagged.

That had been nearly a month ago, and the truth that Ladybug and Chat noir were Marinette and Adrien still hadn’t sunk all the way in.

Yes, Luka acknowledged it. Yes, he believed they were both more than capable.

But he didn’t want it to be true.

Because that meant he didn’t stand a chance.

And that was a very selfish thought.

Ladybug, Marinette, had entrusted him with a Miraculous of his own (on loan of course) a couple of times. That had to mean something, right?

If she trusted him enough for that, then that was enough. She did care about him.

But now it was time to move on from liking her, to supporting her. Things would get rough once they got out. And he was absolutely confident that they would! Ladybug and Chat Noir! Heroes!

Still, as he sat back stage, there a flash of anger that course through his veins.

How did he not notice earlier? Surely, Chat Noir was pretty different from Adrien, but he should have at least had a hunch about Ladybug. He was usually pretty good about reading people.

And yet, the girl he cared about the most…he hadn’t even suspected it.

He shook his head in frustration.

“Nervous?” A voice cut into his thoughts.

Looking up, Luka made eye-contact with Jagged Stone, who was wearing an outfit Gabriel designed to match their costumes. Another fact that he hadn’t quite gotten over yet. He was playing a concert with Jagged Stone tonight!

In front of millions of people.

“No…well, yeah, of course, but…I was just thinking about Marinette.”

“Ah, a young heart in love. A lot of pain, a lot of joy…a pain in the arse.”

Luka chuckled at that.

“Look kid, you’re not gonna be alone out there…for the most part. That solo was your idea.”

“I won’t even be alone for that,” Luka smirked. “I’ll have Adrien with me.”

Jagged gave a hard pat to his shoulder. “I know it’s a somber occasion, but try to have some fun, huh? I know they’d really want it.”

“Yeah, I’ll do my best.”

The city had set up a stage under the Eiffel Tower, one that had no curtains, so the crowd could surround it on all sides. Technically, the band was under the stage, until it was time to begin.

Luka was all ready to go, having tuned his guitars, one electric, one acoustic. He glanced around the space watching people scurry about. Jagged’s band, Kitty Section, Clara Nightingale, Alya and Nino, and a handful of staff. There were some other people he didn’t know.

When he was approached about the concert, he had enthusiastically agreed, though he was warned what could happen if the people who took Marinette found out he was close to them.

They hadn’t taken anyone else yet, but it was just a matter of time.

Still, Luka wasn’t afraid, and he wanted to do this for them.

“Luka?” A girl asked.

He blinked out of his reverie again. “Uh…Kagami, right?”

“Yeah, it’s been a while.”

“Yeah.”

She sat next to him, without another word.

Without much thought, he started to pick at his strings, a soft little melody hanging in the air.

“That’s nice,” said Kagami.

“Thanks…it’s not much.”

“You’re playing tonight, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Nervous?”

“Who wouldn’t be?” He shrugged. He really hoped he wasn’t coming off as short. He just didn’t feel much like talking. That was something Marinette was good about, just willing share her presence and allow herself to get lost in the music with him.

But now she was lost in silence. And even after all was said and done, she’d probably be listening for a piano.

He hit a bad chord, and winced. Then he sighed, and stopped.

“You are fond of her, aren’t you? You went on that double date with us, after all.”

He began to play again. “Yeah, you could say I was fond of her.”

“Did you love her?”

He paused. And then continued to strum. “You know, for all the love songs I’ve ever played and ever wrote…I don’t think I’ve ever been in love before. I think I liked her, a lot. But…”

“Knowing who she is, and seeing it in comparison…it’s not love, right?” She finished for him.

“Yeah…you—you got it right on the head. What about you? Did you love Adrien?”

She shook her head. “Same as you. Thought I did…but…Adrien was my first real friend. I think I assumed the admiration I felt for him was love, when it was just…well, love. But not in the way that I thought. I’m sorry, I’m not great at explaining my feelings. I didn’t mean to heap this on you. You’re about to perform and I’m bothering you—“ She stood.

“Hey, no, Kagami…you’re not bothering me at all.” And she wasn’t. Not anymore. “You put what I’ve been feeling into words, and I’m really thankful for that.”

“Really?” She asked, sitting back down.

“For sure! I’ve felt…kind of selfish lately. Like…really really selfish. I should be worried sick for both of them, and I am! Believe me! But…I’m also hurting. Knowing the feelings I had for her are nothing in comparison for how Adrien feels for her…”

“Hey.” She said sternly. “You felt for her. That’s enough. You’re allowed to be upset. Everyone in this whole darn city is upset. No one will judge your reasoning.”

His lip twitched in a smile. “Darn?”

“I’m not allowed to swear.”

“Well, I won’t tell.”

She glanced around and then finally uttered a soft, “…damn.”

Luka snickered. “That’s the spirit.”

“Thanks for talking with me, Luka.”

“Of course, any time.” And when she stood, he gently grasped her wrist. “I mean it. Any time. We broken hearts have to stick together, right?”

She smirked at him. “Just don’t expect me to fall for you right away.”

His eyes widened. “Right away?”

“Uh—“ She blushed. “Or at all.” She cleared her throat. “Well, break a leg.”

Luka felt himself missing her once she had left, even though she’d only been here for a moment.

Maybe he was just lonely. Despite his still conflicted heart.

“Five minutes!” The stage manager shouted.

And just like that, all of Luka’s frustrations and sadness disappeared to be replaced with total and complete nervousness.

He exhaled slowly, and put on his mask—the one Marinette had made—and got into position.

He was a few steps behind Jagged, surrounded by other band members, waiting on a hydraulic lift. Any minute now, it would raise up and he’d see the thousands and thousands of people that had come out.

He could already hear them. The crowd was talking, voices muddled together in waves and waves of humming garbage.

His heart pounded in his chest as he swallowed thickly.

Jagged looked over to Clara and nodded. Then they both looked to Luka, who nodded too.

He wanted to do this. For Adrien. For Marinette.

The floor started to move.

Oh god

Jagged strummed his guitar, beginning the first song. A favorite of Adrien’s, he was told. The whole set list was made up of their favorite songs from the three bands.

Including one that Luka wrote.

Jagged started to sing.

I do not

Understand

What it is

I've done wrong

Full of holes

Check for pulse

Blink your eyes

One for yes

Two for no

I have no idea what I am talking about

I'm trapped in this body and can't get out

Oh, oh

Now that the music started, it was a lot easier to breathe. If he just focused on his guitar and on Jagged and Clara, he’d be fine, totally fine.

Make a sound

Move back home

Pale imitation

With the edges

Sawn off

I have no idea what you are talking about

I'm trapped in this body and can't get out

Oh, oh

Feeling braver, Luka looked up and out into the audience. He almost stopped playing completely. It was an ocean of people, jumping up and down, cheering and singing along. They flooded the entirety of Champ de Mars, so far back he couldn’t see the end of the crowd. Speakers dotted the edge of the park, assuring that everyone could hear the music.

The concert of the century.

Has the light gone out for you?

'Cause the light's gone for me

It is the 21st century

You can fight it like a dog

And they brought me to my knees

They got scared and they put me in

All the lies run around my face

And for anyone else to see

I'm alive

I've seen it coming

The roar of the crowd was incredible. Thousands and thousands of people gathering together, to support his friends. It made Luka nearly weak in the knees.

“Thank you!” Jagged called, the crowd quieting down more. “Thank you all for coming out tonight. It is my esteemed honor to play tribute to the heroes of Paris…Marinette Dupain-Cheng and Adrien Agreste…that’s Ladybug and Chat Noir, if you didn’t already know.”

More cheering, a sonic boom of devotion and praise.

It was touching to hear Jagged refer to them by their real names first, and not their titles.

“The first time I encountered Marinette was not too many months after she debuted as a superhero. She was helping out at Le Grand Hotel where I was staying, and she was assigned as my gopher. I tasked her with finding a pair of glasses with Eiffel Towers on them, nice and big and totally rock and roll. The first pair she brought back weren’t what I wanted, and I told her as much. She went away and returned an hour later with these glasses,” he gestured to his face. “She couldn’t find the ones I wanted, so she decided to make them herself. I was so thrilled with them! They’re still my favorite accessory! Of course, that same day, Ladybug and Chat Noir both saved my butt from an akuma. Since then, Marinette has designed two of my album covers, and Ladybug and Chat Noir have saved me from akumas, and from akumatization. The moment I saw what happened…I was devastated. Marinette’s become like a little sister to me. I appreciate all the things that she and Adrien do for Paris. And tonight I want to give back. I want to let the world know that we’re not giving up! We are looking! And eventually, we will find them!”

Again, the roar of the crowd was incredible. The sound made the strings of his guitar vibrate against his fingers. It almost hurt!

“This is a song—This song is called Lucky, and I wrote it for Ladybug the first time she saved me.”

The bass guitar started in, a rolling chord setting the tone.

I'm on a roll

I'm on a roll this time

I feel my luck could change

Kill me, cera

Kill me again with love

It's gonna be a glorious day

Pull me out of the aircrash

Pull me out of the lake

'Cause I'm your superhero

We are standing on the edge

The sun hadn’t quite set yet, but the light in the park was rapidly dimming. As the crowd sang along with Jagged and Clara, little lights flickered on in the throng of people. Lighters, cell phones, and candles were raised and swayed in time with the beat.

The head of state has called for me by name

But I don't have time for him

It's gonna be a glorious day

I feel my luck could change

Pull me out of the aircrash

Pull me out of the lake

'Cause I'm your superhero

We are standing on the edge

When the song ended, Luka had to take a steadying breath as he was overwhelmed with emotion. It was just too much.

Above them was a giant screen. Several others were on the edges of the park, with the speakers, assuring that everyone could see the band and the footage that was shown.

What followed was Clara Nightingale’s music video she had created for Ladybug and Chat Noir back when they started out. It was an edited version, instead of shots of Clara, it was B-Roll footage that was taken while Adrien and Marinette were auditioning for Ladybug and Chat Noir. It was almost startling to see them in the costumes without the masks.

Because it was so painfully obvious at that point, and yet no one had noticed.

Luka had gotten to be in the final product, wearing a Ladybug mask and dancing with Marinette and Adrien. That was an incredible experience, one he treasured.

He watched as there were pictures of Adrien and Marinette posing together in costume, looking to all the world like the happiest couple.

The ache in his heart started to subside the longer he watched.

Clara spoke as the video ended. “Such wonderful heroes, together they make,

Marinette and Adrien are truly the best.

To raise awareness for both of their sake,

And so with this concert, I just couldn’t rest!

I met them first one warm November,

Adrien was naturally the perfect cat.

Nervous at first, but his eyes full of ember,

he picked up the role in no time flat!

Ladybug was hard to cast,

My blue eyed, black haired beauty missing,

And Marinette auditioned next to last.

I was becoming dismayed spending the whole day dismissing.

Marinette wasn’t even auditioning for the role,

But Adrien batted his eyes big and green,

And tickled something deep inside her soul.

She was whisked off to makeup and we started the scene!

But alas, what a shame!

Both of their masks had completely disappeared!

It was hard to know who was to blame,

But in the end the video wasn’t even cleared!

How sad I was, and angry too,

For my tribute to be shattered.

My heroes then came to push through,

And finished the battle only slightly battered!

I’m thankful for them every single day,

And hope they come home soon.

But their trials have inspired me in a new way,

So I’ll say it all with a brand new tune.”

She had a ukulele, plucked out a little melody, and started to sing.

When I am with you

I feel naked

I can't hide my scars

Piece by piece

You put me together

Till I am no longer

Broken

In between shots of Clara singing, there were photos of Marinette and Adrien together, with friends, in costume, anywhere together. One such was them asleep together on the train to London, looking absolutely adorable.

When I am with you

I can be myself

I don't have to wear a mask anymore

You see who I am

Deep down inside

I grow by the light of your gaze

You fill me with wonder

Fill me with hope

You have opened up my mind

I see eternity in every little thing

When you're by my side

Luka took more calming breaths and tried to think about the concert, rather than his suffering friends. He had two songs coming up, and it wouldn’t do them justice if he burst out into tears in the middle of them.

He glanced over at his band mates for Kitty Section. Rose was standing by Juleka, and she looked like she was shaking like a leaf. Quietly, he went over and rested a hand on her shoulder. “You okay?”

“Yeah…just nervous, and I miss Marinette and Adrien. They were both really good at comforting.”

Luka sighed softly, noting that Rose had said ‘were’ and not ‘are’. Past tense.

“There’s nothing to be nervous about. Everyone here is here to support them. If you get emotional, they’ll understand.”

Rose nodded.

“Besides, this is a battle song. We’re waging a war! We’re fighting back.”

Rose nodded harder. “Yeah!” She said a bit too loudly, though the mics didn’t pick her up.

When I am with you

I don't fear silence

The voices in my head

Leave me peace

Piece by piece

You put me together

And now

I am no longer

Broken.

The song ended and the applause was much more subdued from Jagged’s songs. It was obvious that people had been moved, and not hyped. Still there were whistles and tearful cheers.

A video began to play on the screen, one that Alya had shot a while ago. It showed Marinette outside of school, a bright blush on her face as she clenched the bottom of her shirt.

Alya’s voice spoke from behind the camera, in a nature documenter’s voice. “Here we see the nervousous pigtailious, commonly known as a Marinette, as she prepares to attract a mate.”

Marinette’s head swiveled over to look at her. “Are you seriously recording me right now?”

“A Marinette cannot detect our camera’s if we stay still. Perhaps we can capture the Marinette’s mating ritual for the first time.”

“You are mean and unhelpful.” Marinette said flatly.

“The Marinette is not typically a hostile creature, but will, on occasion, protect itself with a verbal lashing.”

“Well, I’m officially not nervous anymore, but I am annoyed. At you. If this blows up in my face, purge the evidence. If I succeed…play this at my wedding.”

Alya giggled as she said, “The Marinette has targeted her perspective mate,” she turned the camera to lock onto Adrien and Nino, who were a few feet away, chatting by the stairs of the school. “Her target is the sunshinious handsomous, a gentle and docile creature, most commonly known as an Adrien. Here, we see him interacting with a dorkus maximus.”

“I’m telling Nino you said that.”

“The Marinette gathers her courage to approach.”

Marinette glared back, and then inhaled deeply, her shoulders heaving. Then she stormed over to Adrien and Nino, who both beamed at her approach. From this distance, it wasn’t possible to hear what Marinette was saying.

“And thus begins the dance,” said Alya. “The Marinette is a creature of vast ingenuity, and capable of many surprises, but when it comes to finding a mate, she has had no such luck this season.”

The shot showed Marinette flailing her arms, as she backpedalled over her words. She was now shouting. “Not falling for you! Falling here! I fell!”

“And now the Marinette begins her mating call. A different one to be sure, unlike any other in nature. The Adrien has responded to it, but not with a mating call of his own…”

Adrien had taken his bag off his shoulder, digging through it before he took out a little white bottle, and a bottle of water. He tapped the white bottle on her hand, and then gave her the water.

“It seems the Adrien has misunderstood the call, and has determined the Marinette is in distress. A common miscommunication between the Marinette and the Adrien.”

Adrien patted her shoulder warmly, waved to Nino and walked over to his car.

“Once the situation is rectified, the Adrien takes his leave.”

Marinette stomped back over to Alya, her face red and shoulders hunched, as Nino followed behind, laughing uproariously.

“I tried to do the old, ‘did it hurt when you fell from heaven?’ schtick, but instead I said, ‘it hurt when I fell for you. No, when I fell down the stairs, not falling for you. Falling here. I fell. I think I hit my head, and I’m loosing my mind.’ Then he gave me some ibuprofen from his bag and I love him so much!”

After Alya stopped laughing so hard, she finished the recording by saying, “Nature is beautiful.”

Luka watched the video fondly, having seen it earlier in rehearsal. But now it was his turn. Jagged Stone and Clara Nightingale both nodded him on.

Oh god

Rose cleared her throat and spoke into the mic, with her incredibly sweet voice, “It’s been said a dozen times already, but thank you all for coming out tonight. We’re Kitty Section. Adrien played the piano for us on occasion, and Marinette designed our costumes. Tonight we’ll be performing a song called ‘Take Me to War’. It wasn’t originally written with Adrien or Marinette in mind, but I think it certainly fits. And they both really liked it too.”

Luka had originally written the song as a response to all the negative feedback they were receiving online. Metal heads didn’t take kindly to metal about glitter and unicorns.

But after watching the stream, Luka had tweaked the lyrics ever so slightly, and found it was a perfect fit.

He started out with a funky beat, before Rose came in on vocals.

I've earned myself a reputation

That my bark is much worse than my bite

But I keep snapping at Goliath's hands

With all of my tiny might

There are no stones at my disposal

There's no God to award me a crown

But I am always swinging at

Somebody I can't knock down

All of the fire I've swallowed

All of the sparks that went dark in my gut

I am always burning up

Luka tried to focus on the music, as his heart thundered in his ears. The sun had set now, and all he could see was an ocean of glittering stars, swaying in time with the music.

Dress me in red and throw your roses

And I'll rankle the beasts with words

It's a graceless dance of epithets

We learn to make someone hurt

They will consume your sweet resistance

And they'll carry your heart in their teeth

But I am always feeding them

The ugliest parts of me

All of the words I've swallowed

All of the sharp things I've kept in my mouth

I am always bleeding out

Up on the screen, between shots of the band members, there were photos and short videos of Ladybug and Chat Noir, fighting their battles. Whether it was akumas or the media, Paris was getting another reminder of the hard work and dedication the heroes always put forward.

Take me to war

Honey, I dare you

I'll be the sweetest thing

To ever scare you

Give me a fight I can't resist

Give me something to break with my fists

Take me to war

Oh, honey, I dare you

Distantly, Luka thought about the parents. Alya had told them that Tom, Sabine, and Gabriel wouldn’t be at the concert, for their own safety, but he at least hoped they were watching. He had seen Nadja Chamack somewhere under the stage, right? They were broadcasting this, right?

Oh god he was on TV!

I watched a weed usurp the garden

And it poisoned the rest of the crops

It would take days of fighting stubborn roots

To tear the whole damn thing out

So I will leave it where it's standing

And instead I will find me a match

I'll turn it all to kindling

I'll burn it all down to ash

All of the ire I've swallowed

All of the coals that still sit in my gut

I am always burning up

As they came back to the chorus, Luka pushed all other thoughts out of his head, and played his heart out. This was for Marinette!

Take me to war

Honey, I dare you

I'll be the sweetest thing

To ever scare you

Give me a fight I can't resist

Give me something to break with my fists

Take me to war

Oh, honey, I dare you

The applause this time was breathtaking. Maybe it was a little selfish, but he reveled in the praise, savoring it. He worked hard, practiced day after day, and wrote the words in his heart. This concert was for Adrien and Marinette, but the applause was for him, for his sister, for all of Kitty Section. It felt nice.

Another video began to play. One of a young Ladybug, right at the beginning of their run during Stoneheart. She stood on the beams of the Eiffel Tower, proclaiming to all of Paris:

“Nice try, Hawkmoth, but we know who the bad guy is. Let's not reverse the roles here. Without you, none of these innocent victims would be transformed into villains. Hawkmoth, no matter how long it takes, we will find you, and you will hand us your Miraculous!” Using amazing acrobatics, Ladybug proceeded to capture every akuma that had appeared, destroying the hideous mask that Hawkmoth had conjured. “Let me make this promise to you. No matter who wants to harm you, Ladybug and Cat Noir will do everything in our power to keep you safe!” She opened her yo-yo, a cloud of Butterflies bursting forth and disappearing into the sky, the video transitioning to black.

While the video played, Luka had switched out his electric guitar with an acoustic, and took a seat on a stool. The lights on the rest of the stage went out, bringing the focus to Luka.

The crowd settled down, to a small murmur.

Luka swallowed, and spoke. “I…I’m not much of gamer.” He began. “Of course, I like a round or two of UMS, but, I’m not the dedicated fan that Adrien apparently is.” He licked his lips as his mouth felt incredibly dry with ten thousand eyes staring at him. “I was watching the stream really late one night, just checking up on them, since I couldn’t sleep, and I saw this moment…well, you’ll see.”

Up on the screen, there was a clip of Adrien from the stream, in his dark cage. The film was green, being shot with night vision. He had his head rested against the wall, and looked up towards the ceiling. The word ‘chatte’ was perfectly visible on the side of his head.

Luka picked out the notes, before Adrien began to sing.

Alduin's wings, they did darken the sky.

His roar fury's fire and his scales sharpened scythes.

Men ran and they cowered and they fought and they died.

They burned and they bled as they issued their cries.

Immediately, people recognized the song, as Luka could hear little gasps. But no one sang along right away, just listening to Adrien. When the chorus broke, a murmur of voices rolled over the stage, in a cloud of harmony, as kindred spirits sang together.

Dovahkiin Dovahkiin naal ok zin los vahriin

Wah dein vokul mahfaeraak ahst vaal

Ahrk fin norok paal graan fod nust hon zindro zaan

Dovahkiin fah hin kogaan mu draal

As Adrien sang, he became a little more triumphant in tune, as his notes filled the silence he was suffocating with.

The crowd fell silent again, listening to Adrien’s tale.

We need saviors to free us from Alduin's rage.

Heroes on the field of this new war to wage.

And if Alduin wins, man is gone from this world.

Lost in the shadow of the black wings unfurled.

Adrien closed his eyes, rocking back and forth, letting the music transport him out and away. To a land of dragons and warriors. It was the best thing for him, pretending to be somewhere where he wasn’t.

But then came the Tongues on that terrible day.

Steadfast as winter, they entered the fray.

And all heard the music of Alduin's doom.

The sweet song of Skyrim, sky-shattering Thu'um.

And so the Tongues freed us from Alduin's rage.

Gave the gift of the Voice, ushered in a new Age.

If Alduin is eternal, then eternity's done.

For his story is over and the dragons... are gone.

When the song was over, and the video cut out, the cheers were deafening. People were crying and sobbing. Adrien was the least prepared to sing in front of an audience. His voice was raw and breaking, some of his notes a little sour. The mic he had wasn’t great, and his throat was dry. He was singing for himself only.

But it was him. He was here with them all. It was his voice.

And that was enough to make everyone that felt completely useless to feel just a little bit better.

“One last song,” said Jagged, with his own acoustic. “A favorite of Adrien’s…and a bit ironic, if I’m being honest.”

Wake from your sleep

The drying of your tears

Today we escape

We escape

Pack and get dressed

Before your father hears us

Before all hell breaks loose

Breathe

Keep breathing

Don't loose your nerve

Breathe

Keep breathing

I can't do this alone

Sing us a song

A song to keep us warm

There's such a chill

Such a chill

You can laugh

A spineless laugh

We hope your rules and wisdom choke you

Now

We are one

In everlasting peace

We hope that you choke

That you choke

We hope that you choke

That you choke

We hope

That you choke

—

Radiohead songs in order:

‘Bodysnatchers’

‘Lucky’

‘Exit Music’

Then I used ‘Piece by Piece’ by Eivør for Clara’s song.

Kitty Section’s song was ‘Take Me To War’ by the Crane Wives.

Then the song that Adrien sang was ‘Song of the Tongues’ from Skyrim.

I made a playlist of all the songs that are (or will be) in this fic, and those that inspired it at on youtube

#longest night #miraculous ladybug #ml #luka couffaine #fanfiction #marinette dupain cheng #adrien agreste #adrinette #ladynoir #fanfic #jagged stone #clara nightingale #ladybug #chat noir #song fic

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nyxxon · 5 years

Text

Bad Flirting (Kaminari Denki)

(A/N: Insert me stealing bad Google pick-up lines. 🤧)

"Yo, (Last Name)-chan! Are you French? Because Eiffel for you."

Rolling your eyes and shaking your head lightly, you continued walking down the hall beside Kaminari who was using the cheesiest of pick-up lines on you. Choosing not to say anything, you basically ignored the male as you made way to your next class.

This had become a common occurrence as of late. Ever since he had bumped into you in the hall about three weeks ago, he had been trying to garner your attention by whatever means he could⁠—⁠such as little gesture, purposely bumping into you again to have an excuse to communicate with you, etc...—but the pick-up lines had just started about a few days ago on the three week mark.

He had also surprisingly found out your name through asking multiple people⁠—not even coming to you for it⁠—about it until he had finally struck gold with a student in your class who had then also come to 'warn' you about how a certain straw haired male with a black lightning bolt in his hair seemed to want to get to know you more and had his eye on you while telling you that you should be upfront with him if you didn't want to be continually pestered; however, you actually wouldn't mind getting to know Kaminari as you had a little bit of a crush on him albeit small since you had only had the pleasure of knowing him through glances here and there, but it was still there.

The idea of the straw haired male trying to get to know you didn't seem like a bad idea, but soon you had come to realize he wasn't really trying to communicate normally... Or as what the majority of the world would refer to as normal anyways... And would just use all the cheesiest greetings anyone could come up with...

It was cute at first⁠—⁠and still was, if you were truly being honest with yourself—until it became apparent he just didn't really know how to truly 'pick-up' a girl having probably no doubt Googled all the actions he was doing... As well as Googling all these cheesy lines he was spouting to you.

"No? Uh..." He stopped in the middle of the hallway trying to come up with another one in hopes you'd acknowledge it before looking back up at your shrinking form, "... Uh... Are you a cat? Because I feline a connection with you! Yeah? Yeah?"

However, you didn't stop and just shook your head once more before disappearing around the corner though a small smile was present on your lips at the straw haired male's attempts at trying to talk to you while failing to realize if he'd just act normal, he'd be able to do just fine instead of all the cheesiness... So instead of humoring him with going along, you decided ignoring yet also slightly acknowledging him enough with his (you dare say) lame attempts, he'd sooner or later catch on and actually have a normal conversation with you with a simple 'hi' as it went on from there.

Kaminari just slumped in defeat, but he instantly straightened himself up as a fire burned in his eyes while he looked in the direction you had disappeared from. He wasn't going to give up that easily...

『•••』

Boredly tapping your pen against the book that you had to go through for a certain class, you silently read it but failing to notice a certain male making his way silently towards the table you occupied in the library of the school the next day...

"What a coincidence!" An all too familiar voice soon sounded causing you to look up from your book and stop tapping with the pen as you raised a brow.

"Hmm..." You had a feeling he only knew you gone here in the mornings before school from having studied you intently for the oast three weeks, not that you minded but wished he'd just communicate normally.

"So a library, huh?"

Well, this sounded almost normal... Perhaps Kaminari had caught on to the little signs of you just wanting a regular conversation..? Placing your chin on the palm of your hand, you nodded silently to the question.

"Well..." He began to dig inside his pocket for something causing you to tilt your head before pulling out what appeared to be a (one hundred percent outdated) library card that he had no doubt gotten when he was probably in kindergarten or something and you furrowed your brows.

"... It's a good thing I have my library card on me, because I'm totally checking you out."

Or... Maybe not.

Sighing while shaking your head with a smile present, you got up from your chair and gathered your things before exiting the library leaving the male there to watch as you silently left the library.

"So that didn't work... Guess I'll have to think of a better one..." Kaminari placed his hand on his chin going deep in thought.

Walking down the hall, you were making your way out of the school since the day had finally been finished.

You were surprised you hadn't seen Kaminari for the rest of the day. Usually, he'd be bombarding you with a multiple of cheesy attempts to get to you; however, today had been... Silent. It'd be a lie if you said you were a bit disappointed. You may have wanted him to communicate with you normally, but that didn't mean you wanted him to completely stop saying a single word to you.

Though it seemed it wouldn't last much longer as you heard your name being called causing you to turn around and face the one who had been flooding your thoughts. A pang of relief shot through you as you stopped and watched as the male running up to you seemingly out of breath.

It didn't take long for him to make it in front of you as he bent down a bit and placed his hands on his knees to stabilize himself and catch his breath before looking up at you with a big grin, "... Thought you had left already, glad I caught ya before you did!"

"No... I'm still here though I was just leaving."

Seemingly ignoring what you had said, Kaminari cleared his throat as he stood straight up while you rose a brow, having a good idea what he was probably about to do, before he looked directly in your eyes, "... Is it hot in here, it is it just you?" He wiggled his brows for effect as you just blinked, seeing this he waved his hands in front of his face.

"... No, no, no. Wait." He pondered for a moment, "... Did it hurt? When you fell from heaven? Huuuuh, huuuuh..? No..? Well... Are you a parking ticket? Because you got fine written all over you..."

Not getting any of the reactions he had been wanting, Kaminari continued using multiple pick-up lines, them all cheesier than the last, while you just stared and blinked at him with a strained smile plastered on your face allowing him to do so.

"... I must be in a museum because you're truly a work of ar–"

"Kaminari-kun." You interrupted him which caused him to open his eyes as he had had them closed, your smile even more strained than when he had started this whole thing.

Seemingly catching your drift (surprisingly), he began to rub the back of his neck awkwardly as he laughed nervously, "... IIIIIII'm ruining any chances I've had, aren't I?"

"I... Wouldn't say that..." You looked to the side awkwardly, "... Though you aren't going anywhere either..." Looking back, you gave him a small real smile, "... You're trying a bit too hard."

His blinked, "... Huh?"

"All you had to do was talk to me regularly. No need to be so... Extra."

Kaminari's eyes widened, "... You're telling me I didn't have to go all out?! All this could have been solved with me simply going up to you and starting a regular conversation or just asking you out?!"

You giggled, "... Exactly. Though maybe I should have been a bit more forward about that and told you straight up myself..."

"No... It's my fault..." Dramatic tears began to pour from his eyes as he leaned to the side, "... Damnit." Though he quickly composed himself as he looked to the side, "... I'm guessing it's too late to–"

"Saturday. Six o'clock p.m. at the movie theater downtown. I've been wanting to see (Movie Title) for a bit now... That's if you want to."

He snapped his head back to look at you with wide eyes, "... I'd... I want to! Sounds good to me!"

Smiling softly, you tilted your head to the side, "... It's settled then." You looked at your watch, "... Though I have to go and get home now. It was... Nice talking to you Kaminari-kun. See you around." You turned and waved at the still somewhat shocked male.

"Y-Yeah, bye, (Last Name)-chan..!"

The straw haired male watched until you disappeared out of the school, leaving him in the hallway all alone. He couldn't believe it. He actually landed a date with you! A light blush spread across his cheeks as a big grin made way to his face. He couldn't wait to tell his friends.

However, it dawned on Kaminari that he was broke and he didn't want you paying for it all or any of it at all causing him to dramatically slump over though he soon composed himself while telling himself he'd deal with that when the time came.

Until then... Kaminari would just bask in the ecstasy in knowing he had finally, after three weeks, landed a date with the girl that had caught his eye.

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redtippedfox · 5 years

Text

The ancient Chinese Fox Miraculous holders name is Vixen

Vixen is the Mother of Marinette.

The father was another Ladybug holder who turned into a coward and fled unaware that Vixen was pregnant.

At a young age Vixen had to give up Marinette to her poor baker sisters husband.The Miraculous Temple was being destroyed and Vixen had no where else to raise Marinette.

The Turtle holder told her that Tom had no idea they were related or that Sabine was the ancient Bee holder and her sister was the Fox.

Before giving up Marinette she tells Fu that if she doesn’t return in a few years or when Marinette finally turns 13 she wants Marinette to inherit her Miraculous.

She wants Marinette to be the next ancient Chinese Fox.

Vixen disappeared years later.

Tom and Sabine raised Marinette and Sabine even taught her the things she knew her sister would want her daughter to know. She taught her to be sneaky, how to smell and see lies, how to steal and how to be clever like a fox.

Marinette’s pigtails represent a Two tailed Fox. Tom thought the pigtails were cute, Sabine had to hold back tears as Marinette looked so much like her sister.

When Sabine misses Vixen she cuddles with five year old Marinette.

Fu knows that Marinette’s Vixens daughter but they need a Ladybug and why not a clever Fox’s daughter?

Years pass and the Volpina Akuma appears. Sabine was angry that this high school whore was insulting and throwing dirt on her sisters family’s name.

Marinette feels a weird connection to the ancient fox holder in the Miracle book. Tikki knows that Marinette’s Vixens daughter and wishes to tell her but can’t.

She points out that the Fox Miraculous looks like something her Mom would wear.

“But Hey isn’t she pretty? Man she kinda looks like my mom.”

“That’s Vixen She was a wonderful Fox. She had a daughter you know.”

“Huh I wonder if her daughter is doing well.”

Tikki stares at Marinette with tears in her eyes.

“She is.”

Later in the week Fu calls for Ladybug to visit him.

She goes and when she gets there she sees Master Fu and a box already out with a letter attached.

“Master Fu why is there a miraculous out?”

“Read the letter dear.”

She does. Tikki watches.

“My dearest Marinette

I hope you find that I’m sorry with all my heart that I couldn’t raise you. I’m sorry that I was weak and not strong enough to try and keep you. I’m sorry that my sister Sabine has to give up Her Miraculous just to watch over you because I couldn’t. I’m sorry I couldn’t watch my baby grow up. But I want you to know that one day I will return but for now I want you to be my strong brave daughter and take up my Miraculous and make our family proud. Be the next Vixen be my Hero my little feninette be the Fox your Mother could never be.

Love your Mom Vixen/Elizabeth

Marinette is in tears when she finished the letter.

Her mother had been Vixen of the ancient Fox Miraculous the one Volpina claimed to be a descendent of. She was the daughter of the first ancient Fox.

“Did you know her well?” Marinette asks Fu who has his head down and is almost on the edge of tears.

“Yes, she was my friend after all.”

Marinette rubs the box with her thumb tiny tears falling down onto it.

Fu senses her hesitation.

“Marinette you must promise to fulfill your mothers wish. No matter what you are the true holder of the Fox. It rightfully belongs to you.”

“But I’m Ladybug not Vixen!”

“You can be both.”

She froze.

“I...I can?”

“Yes when Ladybug is needed you be her when Chat needs help you be Vixen.”

Later that day she opened the box meeting Trixx who was thrilled to see her.

“Oh look at you! My my little feninette you grew up! Oh if only Vixen saw you know she would be so proud!”

She takes Trixx out for a test run.

After her first time transforming she looks down and sees that she doesn’t even look like Rena Rouge at all. Instead she looks like Vixen but all of her arm is covered in nice red/orange silk. Her tail looks like a real fox tail and is soft cloth too. She has a white chest thing going all the way down to her boots that also have white bows tied around her black boots. Her ears are a headband but she can still move them. Her hair changed a lot. It was now pitch black with bright orange and white tips. It was looped into a ponytail that was long and looked a lot like Volpinas hair. Not to mention she had two short fox tails hanging around her face. She kinda looked like Volpina but totally different. She had a orange cloth that covered her face. She runs to the Eiffel Tower unaware that a black cat followed her.

She sat down and stared at the city of love. The Fox Miraculous weighing heavy on her chest.

She heard a thump.

“So Volpina got a new look huh.”

“Oh hi Chat no I’m not Volpina it’s me Ladybug.” She says turning to him.

“Wait My Lady?! What are you doing with the Fox Miraculous?”

She looks down and pats the seat next to her.

He sits.

“I just found out that my mother had been Vixen the ancient Fox Miraculous holder. That she had to give me up. That she disappeared. That the people I called mom and dad from the beginning aren’t even my real parents. That... that I’m the rightful Fox holder. That it’s my birth right. My family heirloom.”

He hugs her and blushed at her new adorable Fox costume. She hugs back. When he pulls away he noticed she doesn’t have a mask. That she has tiny freckles.

“My Lady it will always be alright with me by your side what could go wrong?!”

She smiled.

The next day Alya was seething in her seat when Marinette got there. Quickly she tucked the necklace into her shirt.

“Who even was she! That was definitely not Rena Rouge so who’s this new Fox!”

“No idea but she looks like Volpina but better!”

Lila hissed.

Marinette would have to explain to Alya that she can’t be Rena Rouge anymore.

She goes to Alya’s house.

“Ladybug what the heck! Who was that!”

“Alya it was me. I was the new fox.”

Alya blinks twice.

“Wah...why!”

“Because I found out something about my family and its related to the Fox Miraculous. I found out that the Fox Miraculous is my family’s heirloom and my birth right. That it belongs to me only. My mother left it to me in her will.”

“So I can’t be Rena Rouge anymore?”

“Your still an ally Alya but I just have to assign you to a new Miraculous.”

“Oh well that’s okay then. I’m um sorry about your mom.”

“Thanks for understanding Alya.”

The next day when Marinette gets to class she gets a notification on the Ladyblog. An article was made about Ladybug being the new fox. Their was no personal information about her mother she smiled happily.

That smile faded when she went to class to see Alya yelling at Lila.

“That’s not true your a Liar! I literally just posted proof that Ladybug said she was the new Fox name Vixen!”

“Ladybug lied! I’m the new fox see!” She pulls out a fake necklace that looks like Vixens.

Alya snaps it off Lila’s neck and snaps it.

“It was fake everyone knows a Miraculous is indestructible.”

Lila fake cry’s

Running out of the room.

Marinette forgot to tuck in the necklace today and as Adrien walked towards her he spotted it. Wasn’t that the Fox Miraculous? Isn’t that Ladybugs heirloom?

“Hey Marinette could I talk to you?”

“Oh uh yeah sure.”

It has to be her. He moves a piece of her hair away to reveal dark red earrings. It’s definitely her.

“That’s a nice pair of earrings to go with your new necklace.”

She blushed and also panicked.

“Oh um yeah! Just plain boring jewelry!”

Trixx and Tikki slap their foreheads.

“Of coarse I just like them that’s all.”

He would respect her wish to stay hidden.

Marinette doesn’t mind being Ladybug and Vixen

Vixen can flirt with Chat while Ladybug can’t.

Volpina does get Akumatized again and Vixen one ups her.

Vixen fulfills her mothers will. Unaware that a wealthy woman watches her with proud eyes.

One day she be able to hold her little feninette again but for now she just watches.

As a new Vixen rises.

#miraculous ladybug #ladybug #miraculous au #fox miraculous #trixx #marinette dupain cheng #miraculous tales of ladybug and chat noir #fox!marinette #volpina #my art #Miraculous Ladybug

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angelofthequeers · 4 years

Text

Hold Me By Both Hands: Chapter 37

Disclaimer: I don’t own ML.

Why yes, as much as I love Lady Noire with all my heart, I’m slightly creeped out by the fact that her outfit is a leather suit that’s so skin-tight that it makes her boobs pop and her belly button visible. When she’s FIFTEEN. (Or 14. I don’t even know their ages anymore).

Chapter 36 | Chapter 38 | AO3 link

His lady. Marinette. His lady is Marinette. How had Misterbug never seen it before? The same pigtails, dark as night; the same angular eyes that shine with a determined ferocity that’s always struck him as familiar, even if he’d never quite figured out why. Even though those eyes are now the cat-like green of his when he’s Chat Noir and her black hair falls down her back in a loose braid, she’s still recognisably Ladybug. And she looks utterly incredible in her suit: a cropped, long-sleeved black qipao top with bright green lining and two small slits up both sides at the bottom, over what looks like black gloves and a tight black suit with thin green lines down her sides and outer thighs. She’s also got a thin black belt with a green paw print on one side around her waist, along with knee-high black boots with green trim around the top and soles that appear to be green with black paw pads if Misterbug looks closely as they run.

Marinette Dupain-Cheng is stunning, no matter what guise she’s in. How did he get so lucky as to fall for the same girl twice? All his feelings for Ladybug, died down to background noise since being with Marinette, are rushing back to him in full force, filling his veins with jittery little ladybugs instead of blood and warming him better than any expensive heating system ever could.

Of course, it’s not a hundred percent certain. But honestly, who else could it be? Marinette trips down the stairs and hurts her left arm (although he’s got doubts about that being an accident, after her recent run of bad luck), and Ladybug’s left arm is hurt so badly that she can’t be Ladybug? And every single time Marinette’s been around, Ladybug hasn’t been, and vice versa? The way she’s been odd every time he’s brought up Marinette? How she was conveniently out on a secret mission when Evillustrator was targeting Marinette? No; now that Misterbug’s mind has connected the two girls, there’s no way he can see Marinette and Ladybug as two different people.

But what’s he supposed to do? He can’t just up and tell her. She’d flip out if she knew. And…maybe he’s just a bit scared. Maybe, after Marinette’s confession about the ways in which she used to pursue Adrien, there’s that fear that she’ll not want to be with Chat Noir if she learns that they’re the same people, especially since she’s confided in him without the knowledge that he’s the boy she was talking about. And considering that Marinette is one of Misterbug’s best friends and he’d kill everyone in the room and then himself if anything happened to her, there’s no way in hell he’s going to do anything to risk losing her.

“Um, excuse me, what the hell?” says a familiar voice, cutting through Misterbug’s thoughts. He and Lady Noire have finally made it outside, where there are vines and tendrils covering almost every inch of the place, plunging the courtyard into the quiet, breath-holding atmosphere of the heart of a forest. What the hell is this akuma annoyed about?

“Oh, hi, Honeybee!” Lady Noire says. “Chat and I decided to try switching our Miraculouses for a bit, to get accustomed to each other’s powers.”

“We – did! Yeah!” Misterbug says. “Misterbug and Lady Noire, at your service!”

Honeybee wrinkles her nose. “Eww. Ladybug looks way better in spots than as a mangy alley cat.”

“Luckily for her, she doesn’t have to give a fuck about what you think!” Rena Rouge says brightly as she lands beside Honeybee, while Carapace skids to a halt next to Lady Noire. Honeybee flips Rena Rouge off in response.

“Guys, focus!” Lady Noire easily slips into her role as the team leader. Another sign that Misterbug had missed! Marinette is class president; she’s a natural leader! “What are we up against?”

“A hacked-off gardener, I think?” Rena Rouge says. “Called himself Tangleweed before he ran and got his plants to try and strangle the hell out of us.”

“How do we find him, then?” Misterbug says. “With all these plants, he could be anywhere.”

“Just follow the leafy green road, dude,” Carapace says. Huh. Now that Misterbug looks closer, the vines and other plants do seem to be trailing from a common source outside what he assumes is the school gates, not that he can make sense of what’s up and down in this place.

“Well,” Misterbug says, “everything will be just vine once – ow!”

“Leave the puns to the clown, bugaboy,” Lady Noire says with a charming little smile, retracting her baton after bopping him over the head with it.

“Okay, I take it back,” Honeybee blurts out. “Lady Noire is just as hot as Ladybug, and feel free to stomp my head into the ground whenever you want. I’ll totally thank you for it.”

Lady Noire snorts at that. “I’ll remember your offer. But let’s take down Tangleweed before I go stomping on heads.”

Following the road of plants leads them out of the school and into the streets of Paris, which have also been overrun and choked just like the courtyard. Once they’re out of the school, however, following the plants is unnecessary to find Tangleweed. Unless Misterbug’s sorely mistaken, the massive flower bud on the tip of the Eiffel Tower is most certainly the location of this akuma.

“If this is another Horrificator pod person thing, he better not be slimy,” Honeybee says with another nose wrinkle. “Ick.”

“I’d comment on that, but I’m afraid Lady Noire would hit me next,” Rena Rouge says dryly.

“Damn right,” Lady Noire says with a shit-eating grin. Fantastic. Is Plagg’s bastard energy rubbing off on her? “Well, bugaboy, what’s the plan?”

Misterbug blinks when his teammates turn to stare at him expectantly. “M-Me?” he stammers. “Aren’t you the brains, milady?”

“Sure, when I’m Ladybug,” Lady Noire says, twisting the tip of her boot on the ground coyly. Misterbug’s heart nearly gives out at the sight because this is his gorgeous girlfriend Marinette he’s talking to. “Come on, milord, I’m sure you can think of something.”

“I’m gonna be sick,” Rena Rouge mutters.

“Payback’s a bitch,” Lady Noire grins.

“Well, you don’t have to watch me make out with my boyfriend! And ew, Ladybug watches me lock lips. I’m gonna make myself sick now.”

“Guys, focus!” Misterbug whines. Lady Noire falls silent, though her green cat eyes continue to glitter with mischief. “D’you think we can get to Tangleweed ourselves? Or should I Charm it?”

“Not this early,” Lady Noire says. “At least get closer and gather information. The Lucky Charm doesn’t just give you what you want. You have to make do with what you get and figure out how to win the battle!��

“May I just repeat,” Honeybee says, “please crush me into the ground.”

“Come on!” Lady Noire spins her baton. “Let’s go yank some weeds!”

“Hey, that’s my line!” Misterbug complains as he leaps after her, followed by Rena Rouge, Carapace, and Honeybee. It’s easy enough to make it to the Tower; the problems start when they try to scale it and a thick root appears out of nowhere and literally slaps Honeybee out of the air.

“Ah,” Misterbug says. “Yes. Because this was going to be easy, just for me.”

“You know, putting on this suit is probably the best thing I’ve ever done,” Lady Noire says cheerfully and bats a massive tendril of grass away from Rena Rouge with her good arm, wincing as she does so.

“Stop being a bastard and help me figure this out!”

“Fine, fine. Let’s try a distraction! Rena, Honey, keep him occupied. Misterbug, Carapace, and I will try and sneak around.”

“I grow gayer every time you call me Honey,” Honeybee says, then spins her trompo and leaps out onto a massive pink flower. “Hey! Planthead!”

“Look at Honeybee in her natural habitat!” Rena Rouge grins, stabbing a tendril with her flute. Honeybee shoots her a death glare.

“Come on!” Misterbug says. He, Lady Noire, and Carapace take off up the Tower, although Lady Noire noticeably winces every time she’s forced to put weight on her injured arm. Oh. Shit. Misterbug had forgotten about that!

“I’m fine,” Lady Noire huffs when she catches him staring. “Seriously.”

“Forgive me if I don’t believe that,” Misterbug says. “Look, you can stay on the ground and –”

“Like hell! I can still fight, bugaboy!”

“Uh, am I missing something, dudes?” Carapace says.

“I just don’t want you to hurt yourself even more!” Misterbug says.

“I don’t need you to coddle me! I can – ah!”

Tangleweed seems to have finally clued in that he’s getting a surprise visit from the rear. A vine lashes out and Lady Noire’s forced to dodge with the reflexes of, well…a cat. But she’s unprepared for the follow-up attack, especially as she hisses and cradles her arm to her chest, and she’s knocked off the beam that she’s clutching, hurtling towards the ground with a shrill scream as her staff clatters just out of reach.

“I got her!” Carapace says and dives after her before Misterbug can devolve into a panic attack at the sight of his lady plummeting off the Eiffel Tower. “Shellter!”

No. Focus! She can take care of herself. That’s why you love her. Focus, Misterbug!

Right. New plan. He drops to scoop up Lady Noire’s baton from the stray beam and then continues scaling the Tower, until he’s at the tip and right next to the massive pink flower bud. This close, it looks like it’s pulsating…wait, no, it is. Ew. Good thing Honeybee’s not up here or she’d be pitching a fit.

“Right,” Misterbug says, and takes advantage of Lady Noire not having her baton to add, “Time to nip this in the bud!” He shakes the baton to lengthen it, then jabs at the bud with a bellow…only to be grabbed by the ankles by a vine and hoisted into the air.

“Misterbug!” Lady Noire cries from on the ground as another tendril starts snaking towards his ears. “Use your Lucky Charm!”

Right! “Lucky Charm!” Warm power rushes through Misterbug as he bends up to toss his yo-yo, so unlike the cold energy of Cataclysm, and he’s so preoccupied with this warmth that he almost misses the summoned item that floats back towards him. It’s – “A feather? What am I supposed to do with this?”

Before he can start to think of a plan, though, there’s a low groaning sound that splits the air. The tendril around his ankles loosens, almost as though in shock, and he drops off the creaking, leaning Tower like a stone and is forced to whip his yo-yo off and toss it back at one of the beams to arrest his fall.

“Well? What did it give you?” Lady Noire says once he’s on the ground and can see the reason for his release: the bottom of the toppled Tower is corroded, just like whenever he uses his Cataclysm as Chat Noir. In response to her question, Misterbug holds out his hand to reveal the feather.

“I don’t know what to do with it!” he says. “I mean, I thought of tickling it, but you’d do something totally different! It can’t be that easy!”

Lady Noire hums and looks back at the collapsed Tower. “Well, I’d come up with some convoluted plan, but you’re a simple, straightforward guy,” she says. “Maybe it is that easy. But you can’t just get up there and tickle the akuma without coming up with a plan, which is the whole point of the Lucky Charm.”

“And we have to do it fast, dude,” Carapace says. “I’m gonna change back in a few minutes. And so’ll Lady Noire.”

“Well, the obvious thing would be to have Rena keep it occupied with Mirage while I tickle the flower and Honeybee paralyses Tangleweed,” Misterbug says slowly. “But it can’t be that simple…right?”

“Why not?” Lady Noire says with a small grin. “It’s still a plan. Carapace and I can help Rena Rouge keep him busy until our timers run out. Nice thinking, milord.”

“Alright, let’s freakin’ do this.” Rena Rouge twirls her flute and raises it to her lips to play a little tune. “Mirage!”

Birds. Her illusion is birds. Hundreds of them, flapping around Tangleweed’s vines and vanishing in orange light when the vines touch them, but they seem to do the trick of keeping his attention focused away from the superheroes, as his vines start to lash out at them.

“Let’s go!” Misterbug takes off running for the fallen Eiffel Tower with Honeybee, ducking and weaving through vines and flowers and leaves, batting them away when they react to his presence and try to grab him once again.

“Ew,” Honeybee grimaces when she and Misterbug finally make it to the pulsating pink bud. “Gross.”

“That’s what I said,” Misterbug says. “You ready?”

Honeybee steels herself and nods. “Venom!” she says and catches her throbbing trompo. Then she wrinkles her nose. “Ugh. I’m never gonna be able to look at my weapon the same way again.”

“Get ready to pollinate this plant,” Misterbug grins. Honeybee gives him such a venomous look that he’s surprised he doesn’t drop dead on the spot. “Fine, fine, I’ll lay off the jokes.”

“Just tickle the damn thing already!” Honeybee says. Sticking out his tongue – because okay, Adrien’s technically not yet friends with Chloe again and she doesn’t know he’s Misterbug slash Chat Noir, but it’s so much fun to mess with her – he steps up to the bud and starts to tickle it with the little red feather. The bud quivers, then shivers, then thrashes wildly and falls open to reveal the green-skinned man inside. Honeybee’s on the case straight away, jabbing her trompo into Tangleweed’s arm to freeze him on the spot.

“Nice,” Misterbug says. “Where d’you think the akuma is?”

Honeybee raises an eyebrow. “Probably the shears he’s very obviously holding in his left hand?” she says. Misterbug squints at Tangleweed. Oh. Right. That…would make sense. Biting down on a scathing retort, he grabs the shears and snaps them over his knee to release the evil purple and black butterfly.

“Don’t forget to capture the akuma!” Lady Noire calls over from the base of the ruined Eiffel Tower.

“Hey, I’ve always wanted to do this!” Misterbug swipes open his yo-yo and tosses it at the akuma, capturing it and reeling it back in. “No more evildoing for you, little akuma! Time to de-evilise!”

“You are a massive dork and I hate that I’m in your presence,” Honeybee says. Misterbug grins at her as he releases the now-white butterfly.

“Bye-bye, little butterfly!”

“Nope. Ladybug does it better. Don’t even try.”

“You could be just a little more encouraging, you know,” Misterbug says.

“That would imply that I approve of you being a gigantic loser.”

“Hmph. Don’t be such a hater.” Misterbug throws the feather into the air before Honeybee can retort, and when he calls, “Miraculous Misterbug!” the ladybug swarm surges around Paris, restoring the Eiffel Tower and other damaged buildings and vanishing any trace of Tangleweed’s plants.

“Did you seriously just –?”

“Hey, you told me not to try and be like Ladybug,” Misterbug grins. Honeybee’s eye twitches.

“Not bad for your first time as Ladybug, milord,” Lady Noire says as she bounds over with Rena Rouge and Carapace. She holds out her good fist, and Misterbug, Rena Rouge, Carapace, and Honeybee follow suit and the five of them cry, “Pound it!”

[8:33 pm] miraculass

ladyBIrd: nice job today, guys

what does the fox say: wait why is your name still that

what does the fox say: you’re lady noire now right

ladyBIrd: only temp

catitude: yeah we thought it’d be good to try each other’s powers

catitude: in case we ever have to swap and realise we’re fucked bc we don’t know how to use the other

mess w turt u get hurt: makes sense

honeybeetch: just pls hurry up and switch back

honeybeetch: i can’t stand to see ladybug like this

honeybeetch: i mean

honeybeetch: she’s hot but i can’t handle misterbug

honeybeetch: he’s a giant loser

catitude: :(

mess w turt u get hurt: omg chloe????

honeybeetch: !!!!!!!

ladyBIrd: caRAPACE NO

honeybeetch: FUCK IVE BEEN EXPOSED

what does the fox say: welp

catitude: f

airhead: Plot twist

airhead: Did I get that saying right?

mess w turt u get hurt: SRY

mess w turt u get hurt: i just

mess w turt u get hurt: the timing of honeybee esp after queen bee

mess w turt u get hurt: and how she’s a bitch here but like

mess w turt u get hurt: not nasty

mess w turt u get hurt: and chloe’s been better since mal

mess w turt u get hurt: even said congrats to marinette n adrien at school that day

mess w turt u get hurt: idk how chloe and honey were together after mal but prob rena

honeybeetch: only ladybug can call me honey shellhead

mess w turt u get hurt: only rena can call me shellhead fuzzhead

what does the fox say: aww i didn’t know we were at that stage in our relationship

mess w turt u get hurt: stfu don’t make a big deal of it or anythin

what does the fox say: 0:)

catitude: dw honey we’re not taking the miraculous

honeybeetch: good bc like fuck i’ll give it

ladyBIrd: Honeybee

honeybeetch: ugh fine

honeybeetch: only for u lb

honeybeetch: but thanks for not taking it

ladyBIrd: just

ladyBIrd: stop figuring each other out

catitude: pls

catitude: idk who milady is

catitude: now i feel sad :(

ladyBIrd: ugh

ladyBIrd: you’re a dork

catitude: eat me ;)

honeybeetch: ew get your kink away from me

airhead: Is it too late to give back my Miraculous?

ladyBIrd: yes

catitude: yes

mess w turt u get hurt: yes

what does the fox say: yes

honeybeetch: yes

honeybeetch: anyway later losers

honeybeetch: late night massage calling my name

airhead: My mother will be expecting me

honeybeetch: mine won’t

honeybeetch: not since i told her to gtfo back to new york

honeybeetch: don’t think she wants to talk to me for the next century

what does the fox say: yeah i should start on my homework

mess w turt u get hurt: SHIT FORGOT STUDY DATE WITH GF

what does the fox say: loooool

catitude: f

catitude: let’s take this to dms milady

ladyBIrd: such a gentleman

[8:39 pm] direct messages

Chat Noir: so um

Chat Noir: how’s the arm

Ladybug: sore as hell

Ladybug: freakin broke it

Chat Noir: oof

Ladybug: yep

Ladybug: prob gonna be out of commission for a few weeks

Ladybug: least the cure fixed any damage I did to it when I was transformed

Chat Noir: just treat plagg well

Ladybug: same with Tikki

Ladybug: I miss her already

Chat Noir: same with plagg

Chat Noir: even if he’s a gremlin

Ladybug: he told me to tell you he’s super offended

Chat Noir: let him be

Ladybug: um

Ladybug: ty

Ladybug: for having my back like that

Ladybug: don’t know how I would’ve managed with my arm

Chat Noir: of course bugaboo

Chat Noir: we’re a team

Ladybug: <3

Chat Noir: <3

Chat Noir: hate that i can’t go and see mari

Chat Noir: even if she’s out of the hospital she prob needs rest time

Ladybug: Chat

Ladybug: you’re her boyfriend

Ladybug: why the heck wouldn’t she want to see you

Chat Noir: i mean

Chat Noir: true

Chat Noir: i’m gonna go see her now

Ladybug: good

Ladybug: I’ll have fun with this homework

Chat Noir: ew

Ladybug: yep

Ladybug: thank god it wasn’t my right arm

“It’s really nice of you to do this, Adrien!” Tikki says as Adrien double checks his schoolbag the next morning to make sure that he’s got everything.

“Well, why wouldn’t I give Marinette a lift to school?” he says. “Someone’s got it in for her. They broke her arm! I mean, it was an “accident” that someone tripped and caused a domino effect just as Marinette happened to be on the stairs but come on. I’m going to stick by her and be her ‘lucky charm’.”

“Mhm.” Tikki’s mouth droops. “She doesn’t deserve what’s been happening to her. Uh, from what I’ve seen of her…”

“You don’t have to pretend.” After a night of tossing and turning, Adrien’s realised that this is the right thing to do. He can’t just sit back and pretend that he doesn’t know, especially since he’s got Ladybug’s kwami for the time being. “I know Marinette is Ladybug.”

“Eep!” Tikki claps her little paws over her mouth. “I didn’t mean to –”

“No, no, it wasn’t anything you said!” Adrien hurries to say. “I figured it out yesterday. Ladybug just happening to have the same injury as Marinette? And then everything clicked.”

Tikki sighs and lowers her arms. “I’m just surprised that none of the others figured it out,” she says. “You are one of the least observant lot we’ve had.”

“Hey,” Adrien protests, though he can’t find it in himself to take offence at something that true.

“When are you going to tell her that you know?”

“I don’t know. I want to but…I’m afraid, Tikki.”

“Adrien –”

“She likes me, right? Adrien? Even though she’s choosing to focus on Chat Noir?”

Tikki slowly nods.

“I know I’m just being silly but, like…part of me is terrified that she won’t want me anymore if she knows I’m Chat Noir. What if she decides that she likes Chat Noir better than Adrien and she wishes I’d never told her? That she’ll lose interest because it’s been me all this time and – and I’ll lose her.”

“That won’t happen, Adrien,” Tikki says firmly. “Marinette most definitely will still want you even if she knows you’re Chat Noir.”

“But –”

“Adrien, I’m her kwami. Trust me when I say that she won’t be disappointed at all. Knowing you’re Adrien would probably make her happier because then her heart won’t belong to two different boys when they’re the same person.”

“Right. Right. Just…give me some time? I still have to wrap my head around the fact that I fell for the same girl twice. Of course she’s Marinette! Who else is as brave and funny and gorgeous as Ladybug?”

Tikki giggles. “How about telling her when you give me back? That should give you enough time to sort yourself out.”

“This isn’t fair,” Adrien complains. “I got stuck with the gremlin kwami. Of course Marinette would get the sugary sweet one.”

Tikki laughs again. But at the sound of footsteps outside Adrien’s bedroom, she dives into the pocket of his green hoodie, just in time to avoid being seen as Nathalie opens the door.

“If you’re insistent on giving this Marinette girl a ride to school, you have to leave now, Adrien,” Nathalie says.

“Right.” Adrien grabs his bag and follows her. “Thanks, Nathalie.”

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itisannak · 5 years

Text

One Day (Calum Hood Fluff)

Summary: (Y/N) won't settle for a simple proposal, so Calum blows the bank to make sure he gets her to say yes. (Words: 2.8k) (Part 1: Can I have this dance?, Part 2: 90 Days, Part 3: 280 Days)

"I always knew that you would look even better holding a baby." I mumble as I take in Calum singing lullabies to our daughter. "I do?" He asks me, cocking an eyebrow as he rocks Stella softly. I hum approvingly, wrapping my arms around his waist. "Well, Stella is almost out, so, maybe daddy and mommy can have a little fun." He murmurs; I can hear the smirk in his voice. "Mmm, no, actually. (Y/B/F/N) and I are going for some last-minute shopping for the tour." I plant a kiss on his shoulder blade. "Uh, come on... Be a little late." He whispers as he places Stella on the crib. "Are you kidding me? I'll be back in like 3 hours." I roll my eyes at him as pulls me close by my hips. "Come on... please, just postpone it for an hour. I need you." He groans, leaning down to kiss my neck. "Mmm, interesting proposal, but I have to say no. I need this, Cal. I need to get nice clothes and maybe something extra for me and you. I need to feel confident again." I state and he sighs. "Ok, baby. We'll wait for you here, daddy and Stella will have so much fun while you are gone." He shrugs his shoulders and I smile at him. "Don't try to guilt me. I'll be back before you know it. You are capable of being alone with your own daughter, right?" I ask him and he groans. "Oh, please, don't question my ability to take care of my daughter. Stella and I will be fine. Go have fun." He whispers, pecking on my forehead. "I will. I'll bring some take-out for dinner. Any preferences?" I ask him, standing on my tiptoes to peck on his lips. He places his hand on the side of my face, holding my face in place to pepper my lips with kisses. "You..." He whispers, stroking his thumb over my cheek. "Well, that was a given... But is Korean ok with you? I am really craving some daktoritang and manduguk..." I suggest and he smirks at me. "Maybe I can text Luke to come over with Andy, and you and (Y/B/F/N) pick up the food so we can hang out while the babies have a playdate. Stella could really use some company since she doesn't have any other siblings to play with..." He says with a pout. "Cal, she is 7 months old. She doesn't need a sibling yet." "Yeah, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't start trying for one... Or maybe practice a bit..." He chuckles and tilts my head to the side to have access to my neck. He kisses my sweet spot, grazing his teeth as he moves lower. "I am not opposed to practicing... You are so good at... practicing. But I don't think we are ready for one more Hood..." I let a moan slip from my lips. "I am good at practicing, huh?" He mumbles and I nod. "Well, in that case, maybe you should call (Y/B/F/N) and raincheck the shopping spree, and stay in here with me and practice." He tries to convince me. "Nice try... I'll go do my makeup now, and maybe you should go pack our luggage since we are leaving in 3 days... And I will see you again tonight, along with our friends." I say, moving away from him as he groans.

"Ugh, Stella will look so good in this..." (Y/B/F/N) says, handing me a tiny dress with roses. I gasp as I see it, feeling the mesh skirt. "It's amazing..." I say, putting it in the basket. "I can't believe our babies are about to go on our first tour..." She sighs, bringing a smile to my face. "I can't believe we are moms... Seems like yesterday I watched you get married to Luke." I coo, shaking my head. "Since you mentioned that, when are you going to finally marry your man?" She asks, nudging me. "I don't know. Probably when he gets the proposal right and stops stuffing Stella's diapers with jewelry boxes." I reply, tilting my head to the side while looking at her smugly. "Come on, he is trying his best." She groans. "I need more than that. After everything we've been through, I deserve a great proposal." I state and she rolls her eyes. "Hey, don't roll your eyes. You are supposed to be on my side." I protest and she side-eyes me. "I am... I just know that it is hard for you not to say yes to those lame proposals." She chuckles. I hand her a t-shirt for Andy, trying to get her to shut up. "Anyway, Calum will have to rack up his brain to get me to marry him." I state, wiggling my eyebrows. "What's left of it, you mean... Because, between you and your daughter, the poor guy has lost his mind." She teases me. "We both deserve it." I stick my tongue out and she giggles. "We need to get you something nice for Paris. I am sure Cal will take you on a romantic day, on a posh restaurant with a view of the Eiffel Tower..." She nudges me again. "I don't think that Calum is that romantic." I mumble, stopping in front of some onesies. "Do I need to remind you about your first date? And how he asked you on that first date?" She asks me, cocking an eyebrow. "No, I remember exactly how it happened. I just don't think he is still romantic." I reply, shrugging as I pick up an onesie. "Need I remind you he is putting on serious effort to convince you to marry him?" She asks again, her voice becoming teasing. "Mrs. Hemmings, can you shush for a moment, please?" I ask, observing the patterns on the fabric in my hands. Or at least pretending to observe it. "Of course, Mrs. Hood. Your wish is my command." She snickers. I feel my cheeks heat up a bit, my stomach twisting in happiness as she calls me Mrs. Hood. It sounds nice, fitting; I've never thought that would sound that good.

"Cal, we are home." I shout as I unlock the door. I get nothing in response, so I place all of the bags on the island and motion (Y/B/F/N) to follow me. I guide us to the backyard, where we find both Luke and Calum along with the kids in the pool, splashing around. "Hey, guys..." I cheer, kneeling at the edge. "Mommy is back, Stella." Calum coos at the cheering baby. "Mommy." Andy shouts, reaching for (Y/B/F/N). "Hey, princess. Did you have fun with daddy?" I ask in my baby voice as I reach to pick up Stella. She babbles, giving me a gummy grin. "Of course you did... You should see what mommy got you for the trip..." I sing, pecking on her forehead. "Did mommy get anything for daddy?" Calum asks, climbing out of the pool. "Maybe..." I wink, holding Stella a little better. "But I brought food for everyone, so maybe (Y/B/F/N) should give the kids a bath and you can take a shower before we make the table." I suggest, stroking my daughter's chubby cheek. "I can make the table while Luke is showering so we can save time." Calum suggests and we all nod. "I'll also feed Stella and prep her for bed. Do you guys want to stay in here tonight, in the guest room?" I ask. "We'll see. Now, let's move and get cleaned, I am starving." Luke groans, making (Y/B/F/N) chuckle.

(Y/B/F/N) and I walk upstairs to the master bathroom to give the babies a bath. I fill the tub with warm water and throw in Stella's bath toys as (Y/B/F/N) sits our kids on the little bench to prep them. "Stella is such a calm baby. I don't think I've ever heard her cry." (Y/B/F/N) comments, turning to look at me as I test the water temperature. "I know. I am so lucky..." I state, getting up to pick my giggling baby up. "We are going to clean this stinky girl." I cheer, bouncing her around. "Wanna clean Andy first?" I ask and she nods. "Sure... Let's go, big boy." She picks up Andy and walks to the tub. I sit on the bench, setting Stella on my lap to play with her while we wait. "My baby girl... You are going to take your first trip! You are going to see so many things, so many people, it's going to be so amazing. And you are going to see daddy sing and play music and do all the things he loves. And you are going to meet daddy's fans, lots and lots of them. And you are going to see one of the most beautiful cities in the world. Mommy bought you so many cute outfits for the trip, you are going to be the most fashionable baby in the world. And you are going to see Aunt Mali." I purr, playing with her hands. She giggles at me as I make my funny faces at her. "Ok, we are set and I refilled the tub for you. Andy, what do we say to godmommy?" (Y/B/F/N) asks as she bounces Andy on her hip. "Thank you, god mama." He whispers, blowing me a kiss. "You are welcome, baby." I blow the kiss back, getting up from the bench.

After we put the kids to bed, we walk into the living room where Calum has set the table and Luke has picked the movie. "They are off." I state, sitting on the floor comfortably. Calum pours me a glass of wine as I take a look at all the food in front of me. "What did you buy today?" Luke asks, handing their glasses to Calum. "Mainly clothes for the kids, little somethings for Calum and you... A fancy dress for (Y/N) for when Cal will take her on a hot date in Paris. And some other stuff." (Y/B/F/N) jumps in before I could open my mouth. "I see... Speaking of it, when are you two getting married?" Luke asks, giving me a side look before he takes a sip from his wine. "Thank you! When are you going to marry me?" Calum asks, poking my shoulder. "And I was wondering why you haven't asked me this far today. When he gives me the proposal I deserve." I state, picking up a dumpling. "Just give him a clue... Look at the poor guy." Luke advocates and I chuckle. "Nah, he is a songwriter, he is creative... He can figure it out..." I state and stick my tongue out. "You are killing me..." Calum groans, pressing a kiss on my cheek. "At least you'll go a happy man." I reply, grabbing his chin to turn his head and kiss him on the lips.

"Why are you so hellbent on not marrying me? You were just as stubborn about not dating me and you were totally wrong about it. And for God's sake, we have a child together..." Calum exasperates, planting a kiss on my shoulder as I rub lotion on my hands. "Because, I want an extra as fuck proposal and the most extra you can come up with is stuffing ring boxes in Stella's diapers, and that sir, is not enough." I reply, shrugging my shoulders. "So, if I make the proposal extra, like nothing before, you will say yes... Right?" He asks me, raising an eyebrow. "I will absolutely say yes." I reply, kissing his chin before I lay on my back. "Ok then. I bet you 100 bucks you will say yes to marry me by the time we are back from tour." He smirks, laying on his back as well. "Deal." I smile, nestling up to his chest.

"How many times have I said that I love waking up in Paris?" I ask Calum as I look outside the window, a mug of coffee in my hands. "We are here 3 days now and you've already said it like 10 times. So I really think you like waking up in Paris." He comments, walking behind me to wrap his arms around my waist. "Can we move to Paris? Like, start living here? Stella will grow up speaking French and in a city known for its cultural environment..." I state and he chuckles. "Maybe in the future... When we are old and wrinkly and Stella is married with kids, and we are grandpas. Because for now, I love my job and I know you love yours, so for now, we have to stay in Los Angeles." He murmurs, picking up my mug to sip on my coffee. "If you had said yes to moving to Paris now, I would have said yes to marrying you." I sing and he chuckles. "You are lying and you are manipulating me." He giggles. "Now you'll never know." I shrug and lean my head on his shoulder. "I can live with that." He whispers. "I really like those mornings... Stella is asleep, we have coffee, I am in your arms... I love these mornings." I state and he hums. He takes a deep breath, moving my hair to the said to kiss the base of my neck. "I love them too." He whispers and I smile as I look outside the window. "So, what's today's schedule?" I ask, reaching to take one of his hands in mine. "Hmmm, concert and then I've booked us a private tour in Louvre because Stella needs to see art early on, it's good for her brain. And then I am taking you for dinner, so dress nicely..." He replies and rubs his thumb over the back of my hand. "I always dress nicely..." I protest. "I will need you to dress even nicer..." He states and I hum. "So you will dress nicely as well?" I ask. "Of course... Shirt and blazer and all." He replies and I gasp in surprise. "Come on, don't act surprised... I dress nicely all the time." He replies, turning my head to kiss my lips. "I am just messing with you." I whisper in between kisses.

Louvre looks even more beautiful without all the people in it. When Calum said private, he meant private... "Look how beautiful it's in here. I can practically live inside a museum, for the rest of my life." I comment, looking at the sculpture of Psyche and Eros like a kid in a candy store. Stella looks just as mesmerized, even though it might be because her dad is holding her. "All this art in this room, still can't take my eyes off of you..." Calum whispers, planting a kiss to my temple. "Cheesy." I whisper under my breath but feel my smile widen and my blush creep up my cheeks. "I mean it. You are the most beautiful woman I've seen, I can't take my eyes off of you." He states, stopping us from walking.

He gestures Ashton over, who smilingly approaches us and picks up Stella. "What are you doing?" I ask Ashton who walks back where he was standing before. Calum moves in front of me, taking my hands in his, without breaking eye contact as he opens his mouth. "It took me almost 6 months to convince you to go on a single date with me, then 3 months to get you to trust me. And then it took me 2 years to screw it up, which was one of the things I will never forgive me for that, but you did... You did forgive me because you have the biggest heart in the world. God, you are stubborn sometimes, if something gets in your brain, you don't stop until you get your way. But this is something I wish our daughter gets from you. You are the kindest, smartest, most incredible person in my life, and all I want is to spend the rest of my life with you, have a dozen children and become a better person next to you because that's what I am becoming next to you. So, for the 5th or 6th time this year, (Y/F/N) (Y/M/N) (Y/L/N), will you make me the happiest man and say yes to becoming my wife?" Calum kneels down in front of me, opening the ring box and presenting a new ring to me. I let out a squeal and bring my hands to muffle me. "Yes, yes... Yes." I cry out. Calum sighs relieved, taking the ring out of the box and sliding it on my finger. Everyone around us cheers, clapping and hollering. "See, it wasn't that hard to come up with something..." I tear up as he gets up from one knee and pulls me in for a kiss. "Thank God you said yes, it cost me a fortune to book this..." He giggles, pecking on my lips. I giggle as well, not fully parting from his lips. "I love you..." I state, biting my lip as I rest my head on his chest. "I love you." He states as well, rubbing my lower back. "Good, cause I just agreed on marrying you." I laugh and he chuckles.

My Masterlist / Can I have this dance? / 90 Days / 280 Days

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pbpress · 4 years

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Fire and Ice: CHAPTER 2 ALESSANDRA FIREBRAND

By Brooklyn N. Dottin

This is the second chapter of a longer piece. Stay tuned for updates as subsequent chapters are posted.

Austin Julius pulled into the driveway of my house on his motorcycle, sun bouncing off his shining helmet, strands of auburn poking out of it. He braked in that fancy manner-turning the bike sideways, making the tires squeal on the pavement. By the time Austin was ringing the doorbell, I’d already frantically switched out of my not-exactly-sexy sweater and jeans and into a tube top, shorts, and an old, worn flannel button-down. I raced to my full-length mirror, fluffed up my strawberry-blond hair, smoothed it back down, and flew down the stairs. I threw open the door-a big no-no in the guide to looking cool-and smiled at the flushed-faced auburn as he stood there.

“Dude, that brake maneuver you just did? I saw it from my window. That was awesome, man!” I said as a conversation starter.

“Thanks,” he said.

“So, come on in,” I said, rather awkwardly, I thought.

“Erm, sure….”

I led him to the living room, where my brother Bradley was doing an art project for school. My brother’s passionate about art, so whenever an art project was due, he’d take great pains to make sure that his project was the best one there. Even when there’s no project due, he still challenges himself with art projects on structures, like the Eiffel Tower, the Pyramids of Giza, or, one time in summer, the Taj Mahal, which took him three weeks.

“Hey, Austin!” Bradley excitedly greeted him. Bradley really likes Austin, and for good reason-Austin’s been very helpful towards Bradley when it came to his art. He’s helped him with a lot of art projects, such as the Taj Mahal project, and has even, when Bradley was little, given him art lessons.

“Hi, Bradley! Whatcha working on?” he asked.

My brother gestured excitedly towards what he was working on, which, in my opinion, looked like something you’d find in a torture chamber.

“It’s something you’d find in a torture chamber!” Bradley said.

Oh.

“What is it?” asked Austin.

“That draw-and-quarter contraption,” he said.

Violent.

“Violent,” said Austin.

Just what I was thinking.

“I know. I’m gonna try and do an art series called Torture Chamber. Sounds cool, eh?”

“Sounds like a lot of fun,” I said sarcastically.

“I didn’t know you liked torture chambers! Maybe I should take you to one!” Bradley said with mock surprise, then laughed. Austin laughed along with him, and I couldn’t help laughing along with them. Bradley can be a total nut sometimes, but he’s a cool kid.

After my laughter subsided, and my brother went back to his work, chuckling to himself, I asked Austin, “So, what brings you here?”

Awkwardly fidgeting with himself, he said, “Can we talk about it somewhere else?” pointedly gesturing towards Bradley. I got the message.

“Alright. Follow me.”

I led him up to my room. I made sure to close the door behind us as we entered my room. I sat on the floor, while he sat on the bed.

“So….what is it?” I asked.

Austin’s face turned red, which I found quite flattering. “Erm….well….let’s just say….that, um, well,-”

“What!” I said impatiently.

“Well, you know how the Halloween Masquerade is coming up?”

“Yeah….”

“I was just wondering if you were going.”

“Yeah, sure, if you’re going too.”

That classic attempted cover-up for asking someone to a dance.

“Okay, cool,” said Austin. “Wanna go to the Masquerade together?”

“OF COURSE I WANNA GO WITH YOU!” I shouted, leaping up. “Erm….ahem….I mean, um, sure.” I said, sitting on the bed. I inwardly kicked myself for being so uncool about it. I glanced up at Austin, and caught him staring at me. Then we sort of just awkwardly stared at each other. Tentatively, I reached up and ran a hand through his auburn mop of hair, which was an easy feat, staring at him the whole time. In retrospect, that was just about the uncoolest, most awkward thing I’ve ever done. I couldn’t read his expression, though. Either that, or he was expressionless. I really couldn’t blame him if he was. I’d be expressionless, too, if I were in that position. But in that moment, I wasn’t thinking about that. All I was thinking then was whether or not what I was about to do was gonna be weird. I sat there, frozen, my hand at the back of his neck, our noses six inches apart. We just sat there like that for what seemed like an eternity (which, looking back, was only about ten seconds). Mental dilemma: either go through with it and regret it, or not go through with it and regret it. End of dilemma.

Slowly, I pulled him by the neck closer, paused at around one-and-a-half inches, and kissed him. Pulling away, I looked into his eyes for a grand total of one second, then kissed him again, this time becoming a bit rougher than last time. That whole time Austin hadn’t kissed me back, but tentatively started to. He gradually gained confidence, and was gently kissing me back. That continued for a while longer before it was interrupted by a voice saying,

“You guys are making out!!!!”

I jumped away from Austin quick, but the spit trail was pretty conspicuous. We both straightened ourselves up.

“Bradley, how many times have I told you, knock before you enter!” I scolded him.

“But you guys wouldn’t’ve heard me knock anyways. And, I did knock, but you guys were moaning so loud the neighbors must’ve heard you, so you certainly wouldn’t have heard me.”

I gave Austin a look that said, Were we really that loud? He shrugged.

“Yeah, my parents should be home any minute now, so maybe you should go before they interrogate us,” I suggested.

“Good idea.” he said, getting up. I walked him to his motorcycle, and gave him a sly look. We totally cracked up.

“Well, that was unexpected,” Austin laughed, a little nervously, I thought. “Who’d’ve thought that Bradley would walk in on us doing something not very PG?”

“I know, right?”

After saying bye to the other, he rode off down the street. I watched him go, before going back inside.

Bradley was at his death-chamber project again, trying to look as innocent as possible and failing horribly at it.

“Bradley, you need to wait until I say ‘Come in’ before you enter, do you understand?” I asked him.

With a wicked grin, he said, “That is, if you’re not too busy moaning as loud as a grizzly bear!”

“Dude, leave off of it, okay? We were just kissing, is all!”

“Just kissing?”

“None of your business!”

“If you guys were ‘just kissing’, then what was with the spit trail? Why were you guys moaning like a grizzly bear that just stepped on a trap? And why was your tongue inside his mouth and vice versa?”

“WAIT, WHAT? YOU SAW THAT!?!?”

“Uh-huh.”

I facepalmed myself. Ugh!

“Next time, just knock and wait for me to say ‘Come in’ before you enter,” I said wearily.

“All right,” replied Bradley, turning back to his work.

#BROOKLYN N. DOTTIN #poetryfiction

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