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2manyfandoms2count · 3 years

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I love you (not) - Chapter 5

Slightly late with days 5 and 6 of @marichatmay, I ended up getting side-tracked last night, which prevented me from posting it on time. Yes, there was a Chat Blanc in this AU too; I'm throwing in my headcanon that Chat Noir is sort of affected by it. Hope you enjoy!

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Chapter 5: In which we get an obligatory dose of Chat Blanc angst

It was no use.

Marinette had tossed and turned for a good hour, but whatever she did, however much she tried to imagine pleasant scenarios involving her friends and family, decreasing her heart rate and drawing a soothed smile on her face as her eyes glazed over, the same image always jerked her back up when the latter finally fluttered shut.

Icy blue eyes. A snarl. White.

She turned to face her bedside clock; Midnight. Her heart beat furiously in her chest, way faster than she liked. She knew from experience that little could be done about it.

She sighed and pushed herself up to turn her light on. So much for going to bed early; she’d collapsed on her bed at around 9pm, and had slept continuously for probably a couple of hours - she supposed it was a great improvement compared to the two previous nights.

Still, the nightmare had caught up with her.

She shivered as Chat Blanc’s cold figure invaded her mind once again, and wrapped herself up in a spare blanket. Her eyes wandered over her books, but she doubted any would take her mind off her concerns.

She looked up. The night seemed to be clear outside; even though the early May weather was a little crisp this year, she thought that maybe a bit of fresh air would do her some good.

She pushed her skylight up and climbed out, adjusting her blanket around her shoulders once she was leaning against her railing.

The Moon was full and shined brightly, she noted, neatly contrasting with the midnight sky; very much unlike the future world she’d entered through Bunnyx’s burrow.

She didn’t know what had caused it. Or, rather, she had an inkling, but she felt like she was missing pieces of the puzzle.

The triggering accident had been her delivering a signed package from Marinette to Adrien, in honour of his fifth name day, as Ladybug. She supposed that Chat Noir must have somehow caught wind of it, and also figured out her double identity as a result. Her partner was many things, and clever was one of them.

She understood how he could have misunderstood the situation; it was true that celebrating somebody’s fifth name day could be seen as an intimate gesture, and as close a friend as Adrien was, maybe it was a little too much. Especially since she’d drawn hearts on the package.

It really wasn’t the way she wanted Chat Noir to find out about her feelings (or rather, lack thereof) for him. She probably would have been hurt, too, if the situation had been reversed. They were theoretically dating, after all.

But the intensity of his pain had destroyed Paris - and if its intensity had been proportional to his love for her…

She tried not to think about it. It just made everything more difficult.

She had a plan to stick to; a plan which now involved a “no gifts to Adrien until Chat and I are over” clause, just in case.

“It’s a pretty beautiful night, isn’t it?” A voice sounded behind her, startling her.

She turned around, even though she would have recognised the voice anywhere. She had to check that he was still here, still okay.

Chat Noir was leaning on his baton on the rooftop, a sad smile on his face. It was his first visit since her encounter with Chat Blanc, even though she’d seen him many times since as Ladybug. He’d seemed to hold up fine in such instances, which was to be expected since he was blissfully ignorant of the situation, but there was certain melancholy to him as he hopped down to come and join her.

“You should be sleeping, you know,” he said quietly, taking in the bags under her eyes.

“So should you,” Marinette replied.

He let out a bitter laugh. “Would that I could.”

Marinette stole a proper look at him. Under the moonlight, his skin had the pale hew of somebody who hadn’t slept in days (she’d know, having looked at herself in the mirror), and his eyes were puffier than usual. She was pretty sure that, were the mask to drop, his bags would at least match hers.

“Is everything alright?” She asked uneasily.

He looked into her eyes as he considered his answer. She looked genuinely worried about him, which he probably shouldn’t be surprised about, given that she loved him (she hadn’t come back on her words since their other encounter on her balcony, he realised). He came to the conclusion that he couldn’t lie to her; she deserved better than a façade. Plus, maybe she’d be able to help. She wasn’t his everyday Ladybug for nothing. “I’ve been having some nightmares, lately.” He escaped her gaze and turned towards the Seine and its gentle flow.

Marinette felt her heart beat faster in her chest. “Oh?” She gulped.

“I’m not sure how to explain…” He raked a hand through his hair. “I keep seeing this landscape. It… smells like destruction, if it makes sense. Water everywhere. The light is too bright. I don’t know what it means, what it is, but I know it’s bad news.”

Marinette couldn’t help but wrap her arms around him and hold him tightly. “I’m so sorry,” she mumbled against his chest.

“What was that?” He pushed her back slightly, just so she wouldn’t feel how quickly his heart was beating, and repressed a purr.

Marinette cleared her throat. “I’m so sorry you’re going through this. Nightmares aren’t fun.” She looked sadly at the Moon, not fully untangling herself from his arms.

He pulled her closer as he caught her tormented gaze, understanding her subtext. He didn’t want to probe too much into what bothered her since she didn’t seem to want to talk about it, but he wanted her to know that he was there for her.

She clutched his back like it was her lifeline and he reciprocated the gesture, resting his head over hers. The physical contact soothed him. He knew he shouldn’t get used to it, but he felt safe in Marinette’s arms. He waved away the thought that maybe it was where he belonged, and just made the most of the moment.

“We make quite a pair, don’t we?” he whispered when the Eiffel Tower flickered in the distance, the flashing lights disturbing his shut eyes. He considered that maybe it was time to go home.

“That, we do.” She smiled affectionately at him, stifling a yawn as he moved out of her reach. She wrapped her banket more tightly around her at the sudden absence of heat. “Thank you, Chat. For coming by.”

“Thank you , Marinette. I… I really needed that.”

“Anytime, Kitty.” She stood on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek. “To keep the nightmares at bay,” she explained the gesture, more to herself than to him, feeling her cheeks warm up as he looked at her with a mixture of awe and bewilderment.

He regained his countenance when he saw her shuffle uneasily. “Sleep well, Princess.” He kissed her forehead. “And see you soon.”

Marinette waved at him as he left, before climbing back down to her bed and curling up in her blanket. She slept soundly for the rest of the night.

Maybe anti-nightmare kisses really were a thing.

#marichat may 2021 #marichat may #miraculous ladybug #the miraculous tales of ladybug and cat noir #mlmiraculous fanfiction #miraculous fanfic #marichat #marinette dupain-cheng #chat noir #chat blanc #day 5: nightmares #day 6: moonlight #elle writes #love you (not)

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siderealscribblings · 7 years

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Eurydice, Eat Your Heart Out (Adrino Percy Jackson AU)

In the dark of Cabin 10, staring up at the roof of his bunk, Adrien could hear the distant plucking of a harp as waves lapped lazily against the shoreline.

All things considered, it wasn’t surprising that he was having trouble sleeping; less than twenty-four hours earlier his father’s limo was nearly destroyed by a rampaging Cyclops that the middle-aged fashion mogul dispatched with a quick flick of a sword he drew from seemingly nowhere. From there, it was somewhat of a blur of packing, private jet rides, and clandestine car trips to the sunny shores of Long Island, New York, a silver pen containing the only means of protection he had in case other monsters attacked.

Monsters.

He could still scarcely believe it. If someone had told him that he was the product of an affair between his mother and the Greco-Roman goddess of love and beauty a few days ago, he would have been dialing Gorilla’s number as quickly as he could while backing away from them. Now, surrounded by dozens of half-siblings he never knew existed, Adrien didn’t quite know what to make of his current situation. He still thought he was going to wake up, home in Paris, and the whole thing would have been just a fever dream brought on by bad cheese; the attack, the journey, the music-

Sitting up in bed, Adrien strained his ears over the snoring of his bunkmate to hear the almost aimless melody that meandered its way across the waves. It was a song that sounded so familiar; like the chorus to something he had heard on the radio years ago. It couldnt’ve been coming from far, judging by the way it cut through the sound of twenty-five teenagers’ beauty sleep, so, clutching his pen and carrying his sneakers, Adrien tip-toed towards the door as quietly as possible, stepping out into the warm Long Island night.

He didn’t know if there was anyone roaming the camp-grounds enforcing curfew, so Adrien stuck to the shadows as much as possible, straining his ears for the music that seemed to beat in time with the waves. Adrien couldn’t say he knew his way around camp that well, but the symphony of water and music carried across the sands and pulled him towards the beach. The light of the full moon beat down on the rolling surf, coming to rest on a dark-skinned figure sitting on the shoreline, dressed in a simple black tank-top and shorts.

As Adrien approached, he idly wondered if sirens came in the form of handsome teenage boys, and wondered if he was wandering to his death by drowning. His shoe snapped a piece of driftwood, and before Adrien could react, the other boy was on his feet, instrument tucked under one arm as a glittering shortsword pointed at him in the other. They froze as they locked eyes for a long moment, hands at their weapons ready to strike. Then the other boy let out a nervous laugh, stowing his sword in his belt.

“Di fuckin’ immortales, man, you scared the hell out of me,” the young man laughed, teeth glimmering in the moonlight.

“S-Sorry!” Adrien laughed, stowing his staff. “I-I couldn’t sleep and…well, I was listening to your music and-”

“You’re a bad liar, dude,” the other boy chuckled, anxiously plucking a few strings and sending another few notes into the air. “Like, really really bad.”

Adrien offered an apologetic chuckle as the musician examined him. “Wait…you’re the new kid, right? Just flew in from Paris this morning…Adrien something?”

“Agreste,” Adrien said, offering his hand out for a shake, before transitioning into a fist-bump, before transitioning into a shaky wave all within the span of a few seconds. “Son of Aphrodite

“Yeah…they said you were homeschooled,” the young man chuckled, lightly bumping the back of his hand against Adrien’s. “Nino Lahiffe; nocturnal lyrist.”

“Nino Lahiffe,” Adrien echoed, racking his brain as he looked the young man over and tried to make an educated guess about his godly parent. “And, y-yeah I just got here.”

“First day jitters?” Nino asked, sitting down in the sand and motioning to the ground beside him. “S’cool; I remember those.”

“How long have you been here?” Adrien asked, sitting cross-legged next to Nino, watching him pluck his lyre almost distractedly.

“Ten years now,” Nino said, glancing out over the ocean. “They brought me here after mom passed; been a year-rounder ever since.”

“Oh…” Adrien said, arms wrapping around his legs. “I’m sorry.”

“Eh, I can’t say I miss her that much,” Nino shrugged, with a smile that was almost too casual. “…haven’t I seen you somewhere before?”

“I…w-well, I sometimes do shoots for my fath…step-father’s fashion company,” Adrien said, kicking his sneakers off as his toes dig into the sand.

“Oh shit you’re the son of that Gabriel dude!” Nino said, hand slapping against his forehead. “Wow, there is a girl in Cabin Seven that is going to flip when she finds out!”

“I’d rather there be not so much flipping, if that’s okay,” Adrien said.

“Hands are tied; girl’s set on being the next Anna Wintour,” Nino said, leaning back as he looked out over the water. “You might end up her model sooner or later; we all pretty much have.”

“Sounds like a pretty tight group you guys got here,” Adrien said softly, glancing across at Nino.

“We get pretty tight…we are family after all,” Nino laughed. “Though, if you got your eye on someone, go ahead and make a play. No biological relation between us, so we ducked the incest bar.”

“That’s…good to know,” Adrien said, scratching his arms anxiously. “Though I don’t think I’m ready to date yet.”

“Give it time; something about having your life threatened by monsters and surrounded by hot guys and girls makes people more prone to sloppy beachside makeouts,” Nino said, one leg crossing on the other as he leaned back on the sand.

“You speaking from experience?” Adrien asked, earning him a small smirk from Nino.

“Might be,” Nino chuckled. “A gentleman doesn’t kiss and tell though.”

“I wouldn’t know,” Adrien blurted out, watching Nino’s fingers walk across the strings almost hypnotically.

“Don’t tell me a guy like you’s never been kissed,” Nino scoffed, sitting up in the sand.

“A guy like me?”

“Mr. Tall, Blonde, and Handsome doesn’t have a little mademoiselle waiting for him back in Paris?” Nino asked, arching an eyebrow as Adrien’s cheeks flushed. “Or a little monsieur if that’s how you butter your croissant?”

“N-Neither!” Adrien said, holding up his hands. “I-I mean, I wouldn’t mind the butter on either side of the croissant but-”

“Relax,” Nino said, nudging his shoulder lightly. “Just hazing the new kid.”

“Hazing?”

“Oh, you didn’t know?” Nino said with a toothy grin. “The son of Hades is gonna summon a hoard of skeletons for you guys to fight tomorrow?”

“S-Skeletons?!” Adrien spluttered. “Wh-What happens if you don’t beat them?!”

“Well…skeletons have gotta come from somewhere, right?” Nino sighed as Adrien narrowed his eyes at him.

“…you’re messing with me, aren’t you?” Adrien said.

“You’re picking up quick, Paris,” Nino said, golf-clapping a little.

“I have to, don’t I?” Adrien sighed, flopping back on the sand and staring up at the night sky. “I mean…yesterday I was just a student and part-time model…today I learned that I’m the lovechild of Aphrodite, my father is a son of Athena and isn’t my real father, and apparently monsters want me dead because of that.”

Nino propped himself up on one hand, harp tucked under his arm as he stared at the young man across the sand.

“Lot to swallow, huh?” Nino said softly.

“Too much sometimes,” Adrien muttered, turning to look at him. “Does it get easier?”

“With time,” Nino said, offering him a reassuring smile. “So long as you don’t flake on training.”

“That’s tomorrow, isn’t it?” Adrien groaned, glancing at the clock on the phone. “I should probably get to bed, huh?”

“Son of Hades isn’t gonna go easy on you, Paris,” Nino said, hopping to his feet and offering Adrien a hand.

“Is this a thing now?” Adrien asked, grabbing Nino’s hand and hauling himself to his feet. “Like the city or like Helen’s boyfriend?”

“Either,” Nino said, tossing Adrien his shoes. “Though if your mom, Athena, and Hera ask you to judge a beauty contest-”

“Je ne parle pas grec,” Adrien chuckled, holding his hands up.

“Yeah…whatever that means,” Nino said, tapping his lyre against Adrien’s back as they traipsed back towards the camp, an easy silence falling between them, punctuated by the occasional lyre pluck.

“Nice lyre,” Adrien said after a moment, eyeing the bone-white frame and glittering silver strings.

“Present from my dad,” Nino said, holding it up in the moonlight as Adrien mentally registered that this probably meant he was Apollo’s scion. “Used to belong to Orpheus, if you can believe it.”

“Get out.”

“On Styx, my man,” Nino said, plucking an arpeggio. “Same one that convinced Hades to let wifey out.”

“That…didn’t end so well, did it?” Adrien asked as they approached Aphrodite’s cabin.

“Guy didn’t trust the gods, that’s why,” Nino said.

“Or didn’t trust his own partner,” Adrien said, earning a strange look from Nino.

“How do you figure?”

Adrien bit his lip. “Well…he should have known that his wife would follow him out of Tartarus. He should have trusted that she would follow him and just walked out when he had the chance.”

“You could do that?” Nino asked, raising an eyebrow. “Just...walk into Tartarus and trust that your partner would walk out with you?”

“Well…if they were the right person,” Adrien said, scuffling on the path outside Cabin Ten as he shot a small, shaky smile in Nino’s direction. “Yeah…I’d like to think I’d do anything for them.”

Nino blinked, scratching the back of his neck as he let out a small laugh. “Wow, they really put you in the right cabin, didn’t they Paris?”

“What can I say; every Frenchman has the soul of a lover,” Adrien said, plucking a rose from the bush outside and flourishing in Nino’s direction with a waggle of his eyebrow.

“Alright, chill Casanova; tomorrow we find out if you got the soul of a fighter too,” Nino said, backing up towards the other cabins. “I’ll look for you.”

“I’ll be there,” Adrien said, offering him a small wave as he retreated. “Don’t look back now, Orpheus.”

Nino chuckled, turning around as he headed toward his cabin. When he thought Adrien wasn’t looking, he spared a glance back, long enough to see Adrien’s exasperated expression and shoot an apologetic smile before resuming his journey, fingers plucking the harp absentmindedly.

Adrien watched him go for a moment, wandering into the darkness between the cabins with a tune dancing on the tips of his fingers as he left. It took him a long moment to regain his bearings; a long moment spent feeling the warm breeze against his skin, the moonlight beating down on him from above, and willing his heart to stop its frenetic beating in time to the song Nino left him with.

Whatever sleep he hoped to find was never going to come now that he heard that song and realized, with some wistful anticipation, that it was the only song he wanted to hear ever again.

“Hey, Nathanael!” Adrien called, jogging up to the Apollo cabin councilor as they made their way towards the training pitch.

“Hm?” Nathanael said, slowing down and shouldering his spear. “Something you wanted?”

“Yeah, I was wondering if Nino got back okay last night,” Adrien said, twirling his staff as Nathanael shot him an odd look.

“Why would I know if Nino got back okay?” Nathanael asked.

“He’s…Apollo cabin, right?” Adrien frowned as Nathanael let out a small chuckle.

“I can see how you might get that impression,” Nathanael said as they approached the training pitch. “But I’m afraid he’s not one of mine.”

“Then whose son is…” As they crested the hill, they were greeted by a small squad of lightly armed skeletons, milling around a figure in black leather armor, hand lazily resting on the pommel of a shortsword. There were some nervous jitters as they approached, with some of the newer campers staying behind their counselors as the training group.

“Alright, you guys,” the black clad figure said in a voice that made Adrien’s heart drop as he peeled off his helmet, revealing a familiar pair of gold eyes that scanned the crowd approvingly. “My friends here have donated their time to be your first live training dummies…well, live is kinda the wrong word for it, but you know.”

There was a wave of scattered laughter as Nino’s eyes landed on Adrien, eyebrow raising as Adrien shot him a small smile.

“Yeah…looks like you made friends with the only living son of Hades,” Nathanael said, nudging Adrien lightly. “Don’t worry; he’s not as scary as the skeletons make him look.”

“Tell you what,” Nino said, pulling his phone out. “Whoever puts my bony friends down the quickest gets commissary lunch on me…any volunteers.”

As the rest of the crowd shrank back, Adrien found himself stepping forward, staff extended as the skeletons closed in around him.

“Anything I want, Orpheus?” Adrien asked, shooting Nino a challenging glare.

“Anything your little heart desires, Paris,” Nino said, shooting him a small wink as the practice field turned into a storm of silver and bonedust.

#my writing #adrino #mlmiraculous #adrien agreste #nino lahiffe

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