#un-smalls your marinette

[xhanisai]

The Last Time I Freaked Out

AO3

Pairing - Adrinette (post-reveal, pre-relationship)

Prompt - ‘Everything’

Summary -

"Bah, you secretly love it when I toss you around, mon Chaton." Marinette freed a hand from his grip just so she could softly flick his forehead, the jest in her baby blues then being replaced with pure adoration as she fell deeper within his big, green eyes.

"I love everything you do to me, my Lady," He confessed, his tone much softer than he originally anticipated for it to be, the shells of his ears pinkening to the shade of plum blossoms and his emeralds glittering without a barrier to withhold the deeper emotions that shone within. Once again, he struck Marinette speechless, her own face blooming with that beautiful sakura hue and her rosy, kissable lips parted in a gentle 'o'. He had to internally pinch himself to reassure his heart that he wasn't dreaming and that the sight of the love of his life before him is very much real.

"Everything?" Her voice was even softer...and quieter. Her blues sometimes averted their gaze from his earnest face, only to flicker right back when he used a tender finger to tilt her chin back towards him.

"Mmhm,"

~(x)~ . . . "He-ehhh? Your hands really are so small, Marinette. Look! My little finger is longer than your forefinger," Adrien chuckled, now clasping their hands together in a perfect fit as his partner grumbled in slight annoyance at his remarks. They were currently sitting on her balcony floor, leaning their backs against the railings and surrounded by numerous empty plates that were once full of delicious sweets and mugs filled with only droplets and remnants of the warm hot chocolate that was now settled in their stomachs. The warm twinkle of the rich fairy lights illuminated the area in a manner that made the boy feel like he was dreaming, everything in a low, golden haze as the night summer breeze cooled down their bodies. But the pulse of her own frame that he felt from her hands alone was more than an indication that everything was absolutely real. He had no worries about having to wake up with disappointment and solitude by his side. "No, you're just very big. A giant tomcat." Marinette scowled, squeezing his hands with a herculean grip out of spite that surely would have gotten an ordinary person yelping from the sudden strength and the pain that would have followed it. However, much to her dismay, her partner was no ordinary boy and instead, took it as a challenge with gleaming eyes and a mischievous, shit-eating smirk. He squeezed back just as hard. "A giant tomcat whose claws need to be clipped from the looks of it, hm?" Adrien simply tried to push her back with the strength of his arms but she didn't even budge, more than capable of taking him on even as a civilian and would most likely win every arm wrestle they played. "Unfair. You easily toss me around as Ladybug so I should be able to push you down when you're Marinette to balance things out. Un-fair." His mock pout earned him a delightful chime of giggles from his Lady, his heart skipping many beats and his cheeks blossoming with a beautiful red as he continued to fall deeper and deeper in love with this wonderful girl. If past him thought he knew what love was when Ladybug and Marinette were still just two different people in his mind, then he would be in a big surprise once he finds out that the brilliant girls turning out to be one simply would make his heart expand to the point where he couldn't breathe. And he almost didn't want to breathe right now just so he could take in this peaceful moment with the love of his life and savour it. "Bah, you secretly love it when I toss you around, mon Chaton." Marinette freed a hand from his grip just so she could softly flick his forehead, the jest in her baby blues then being replaced with pure adoration as she fell deeper within his big, green eyes. "I love everything you do to me, my Lady," He confessed, his tone much softer than he originally anticipated for it to be, the shells of his ears pinkening to the shade of plum blossoms and his emeralds glittering without a barrier to withhold the deeper emotions that shone within. Once again, he struck Marinette speechless, her own face blooming with that beautiful sakura hue and her rosy, kissable lips parted in a gentle 'o'. He had to internally pinch himself to reassure his heart that he wasn't dreaming and that the sight of the love of his life before him is very much real. "Everything?" Her voice was even softer...and quieter. Her blues sometimes averted their gaze from his earnest face, only to flicker right back when he used a tender finger to tilt her chin back towards him. "Mmhm," The designer brought a trembling, pale hand to his face, resting the tiny but hardworking appendage against his cheek, only for her partner to melt into her touch without any hesitation. Without wasting another breath. She internally prayed that he couldn't hear the way her heart pounded so hard against her ribcage and tried its best to leap out of her throat. "Do you like this?" She rubbed her thumb against his cheekbone, fire coursing through both of their veins and the breeze unable to cool down the inferno that was pure passion and longing within their bodies. "Yes." He turned his face slightly so that he could press his peachy lips against her palm and kiss the sensitive skin with a delicious sweetness that rivalled even the most richest of honey. His eyes were green flames of unadulterated desire (for her) and she found herself struggling to swallow. Trying her best to keep her breaths under control, Marinette then trailed her fingers down his face, gingerly and bravely grazing his bottom lip which was pink and slightly dewy and just so soft. "What about...what about this?" She didn't expect him to lean in closer as an answer, his forehead resting on hers and the grip he had on her other hand tightening to the point where they both wore white knuckles. "Yes," He was quiet husk and whispers, the girl able to feel the vibrations of his body from when he spoke, similar to his feline tendency to purr. She was almost surprised that she could hear him with the way her stubborn heartbeat took over all her senses. Gathering all the courage she has ever had and swallowing down her shyness and fears, Marinette brought her face even closer to his, her shivering lips resting on her fingers that were pressed against his own mouth. Baby blues flickered from the sweet, rosy treasure to his emerald greens, and back and forth. Her brows furrowed and her body shook from time to time. It was the patience and never-ending love within his eyes and demeanour that shattered all of her internal obstacles, allowing herself to slowly remove her fingers and for their lips to finally, finally brush and glide into a real, first, true love kiss. "...And this?" She faintly murmured against his sinful lips, the duo quivering and the taste of the delicious sweets they consumed earlier on now spiking through their system without mercy. . He answered with a full, passionate and desperate kiss of his own, encasing her entire body with his arms as he attempted to muster all the love he has for her and the love he will continue to shower her with for the rest of eternity. . . . ~(x)~

#my writing #miraculous ladybug #miraculous ladybug and chat noir #adrinette #ml fanfic #ml fanfiction #post reveal pre relationship #prpr

[avrili136]

Hey! So, i just found your blog on rev’s page, where you sent that AMAZING drawing of her OC and it got me thinking: Do you have an OC? Are them from CoD universe? Cuz queen… YOUR DRAWINGS ARE SO PRETTY OMG OMG YOU SHOULD DEF POST SOME OF THEM 😭😭🩷✨

Fun fact: our profiles are so similar in the design and pfp lolllll its so cool

Cozy song just for you

Aww thank you you are as sweet as a strawberry ✨✨❤️😭

And speaking of OCs, of course I have a lot of OCs and especially in GTA because it is my favorite game ✨ and I also have my own created characters ;3

And Call of Duty OCs of course I have three OCs

The one you are seeing on the screen ✨ is Marinette petit, she is an OC that I imagined when I started being in the cod fandom and I don't regret having created her❤️❤️

She is of French nationality and has a very tall height, I give her 1.79, she is almost 1.80 XD And she is blonde with blue or light blue eyes ;3 .

Fun fact: I made Marinette tall because the Call of Duty guys are very tall so I made Marinette tall and also because I see Cod women who have a small height

And the other two OCs, well I don't have drawings of her but if you want I'll show you one day ✨☺️

Also, what a beautiful song you dedicated to me, it is very beautiful ✨✨✨ thank you.

Here I dedicate my favorite song to you ☺️

#call of duty #<3 #aaawww #you're so sweet #I hope to publish something of my OCs ✨❤️

[anxresi]

I saw a post here asking how someone would ‘reform’ Chloe in the show...

Hmm, interesting. I’ve had a few ideas knocking around on this very subject, and seeing as someone raised the issue I thought I might as well lay them on the line right now. Be warned, though: it’s a long ‘un... ;)

My way of ‘reforming’ Chloe and making her a better person and a superhero worthy of the name (not to mention, making the plot a LOT more interesting) would be slightly more radical, as in...

Firstly, I wouldn’t have her reveal her identity when she discovered the Miraculous. AT ALL. Mainly because, she can’t transform yet, as I’ll explain below...

This would go hand-in-hand with my other change which would include actually GIVING the new holders their Miraculous PERMANENTLY, Ladybug not choosing or knowing the identities of the new heroes (only Master Fu does that) and there only being five permanent members, because that would give the show plenty of scope for Character Development (sorely lacking right now) and sometimes less is more, ya know?

Anyway, in my reinterpretation ALL the kwamis actually have strong personalities, and Pollen lays down the law to Chloe that there’s NO WAY as her current self she’s worthy of a Miraculous. She has to try harder, be a better person, see her mistakes for herself and correct them... etc. Master Fu initially losing the Bee Miraculous was a mistake, and he plans to take it back. But when he sees what Pollen is planning and being intrigued by the possibility, he decides to secretly watch instead to see how the situation unfolds. After all, if you never give someone a chance, how will you ever know what they’re capable of?

Oh, I almost forgot... there’s none of those off-putting shenanigans involving near-death train collisions. That’s the kind of nonsense Thomas Astruc would insert into the narrative to convince us that Chloe could NEVER be a superhero (nearly being responsible for the deaths of hundreds of people does tend to put a dampener on your job application) so we’ll nix that methinks in favor of something a little more low-key and character driven...

So, of course Chloe rebels. Refuses to change her ways. Won’t listen to reason. But Pollen is adamant: if Chloe wants to hear those two Magic Words that’ll help her transform, then she has to radically reappraise her current lifestyle and priorities. Pollen KNOWS Chloe is unhappy with being who she is, as a Spoiled Brat used to getting everything she wants from her often absent father and under the thumb of her abusive mother who can’t even remember her name. Expensive trinkets from a lax male parental figure and trying to please a woman who’s the very antithesis of what a loving mom should be isn’t going to make Chloe happy or help her see the error of her ways, and Pollen knows this.

If it wasn’t for the determined kwami recognizing Chloe’s untapped potential, both as a person AND a superhero, she wouldn’t be trying so hard to help the heiress. After all, if a person doesn’t WANT to change, it’s not your job to try forcing them, is it? In this case though, via her keen powers of observation (bees have four eyes, obviously) Pollen DOES know Chloe wants something better, she just doesn’t know the first thing about how to go about it.

There then follows an extended arc of ups and downs of Chloe trying and failing, making small progress and large missteps in equal measures, and even threatening to throw ‘That Damn Comb’ in the middle of the Seine on more than one occasion(!) But gradually, we DO begin seeing a difference in her behavior (unlike the show, her progress actually STICKS), as she becomes less reliant on her father, stands up to her toxic mother more, starts treating Sabrina better etc... the upshot of it is, Adrien starts to see once again (for the first time in AGES) hints of the sweet girl he met when they were both just kids (Marinette understandably takes a bit or a LOT more persuasion, due to their past history).

In fact, speaking of that... just think of all the GREAT scenes we missed out on, due to the show being presented the way it is... Chloe playing Queen Bee as a sassy, sarcastic diva-ish anti-hero, a welcome addition to the somewhat anodyne current dynamic and DEFINITELY more interesting than the personality black hole which Vesperia arguably is. Marinette not knowing that one of her most trusted members of the Superhero Squad is also her worst enemy (sans Hawkmoth). Audrey NOT being impressed at the new change in her daughter Chlorine’s behavior and actively trying to force her back to NYC with her to ‘detoxicify’ her mind, but constantly being rebuffed by her reforming daughter’s NEW friends and allies...

AARGH I really should stop typing now, mainly because when I think about what we COULD’VE got, compared to the cold, hard reality of the waste of space which is staring me in the face right now, I feel nothing but frustration and sadness. Also, partly because I spent three and a half seasons cheerleading this piece o’sh*t (I mostly tuned out after Zoe’s introduction when I saw which direction the show was headed in, and CERTAINLY didn’t stick around for S5).

Needless to say though, there wouldn’t be any pointless spin-offs set in other countries, unnecessary hidden powers by feeding junk to kwamis, more than one layer to the Miraculous box, set formulas such as a ‘monster of the week’  or Marinette having to ‘learn a lesson’ in every ep, not so much focus on the overwrought ‘Love Square’ plot (a few supporting characters might actually get their time to shine instead of GASP purely existing to push the overexposed central duo together), LOTS more strong continuity, much less time-wasting filler, and most EMPHATICALLY of all...

NO MARY-SUE WANNABE ‘SECRET SIBLINGS’ SHOEHORNED INTO THE SHOW HALFWAY THROUGH IT’S LIFESPAN WHO EVERYONE LOVES AFTER THEIR FIRST EPISODE, BECAME A HERO AFTER THEIR SECOND AND SYSTEMATICALLY STEAL EVERYTHING (their home, their dad, their Miraculous, what few friends they have etc) FROM A MUCH MORE ESTABLISHED AND INTERESTING CHARACTER.

Don’t know who I’m talking about? You must be new here. Hi! ^^

So yeah, that’s my impulsive pitch to become the new showrunner of Miraculous Ladybug. So all those in favor of turfing out the current dude who seems to possess all the vision and creativity of an anaemic sloth, please shout ‘AYE’ now. Then we can bury the remnants of his first misbegotten try in a deep, dark pit in the middle of the Sahara never to be rediscovered, and we can actually start producing something worthy of the name ‘Miraculous’.

Any takers? ;)

#miraculous #miraculous ladybug #ladybug #chloe bourgeois #Chloe #marinette dupain cheng #adrien agreste #chat noir #Zoe Lee #Disney #ml #zag

[dragonn-firee]

Masterlist

Avatar: The Last Airbender

Zuko x Katara

Burn During a hit and run attack at the air temple, Katara suffers a life threatening injury. (oneshot completed)

Scars Zuko has a lot of scars more emotional than physical and Katara is the only one privy to them. (oneshot completed)

Sparring Zuko and Katara teach Aang the proper way to firebend. (oneshot completed)

North Remembers It’s been a whole year when Zuko finally comes to make amends for his country and the North remembers his kindness. (oneshot completed)

Sirens The awkward moment when your dad arrests your boyfriend...Katara is so grounded. (oneshot completed)

Hockey Town Zuko goes from a big city to a small town after joining the struggling Qamiit Wolves. Meanwhile Katara helps him find his place in life. (story wip)

Danny Phantom

Danny x Sam

Be Somebody  Clockwork informs Danny that he will be the new King of Ghosts, now Danny must decide if its the right path for him. Reveal. (oneshot completed)

Rule with Me What was Danny really thinking about when Sam asked him to stay and rule with her? (oneshot completed)

Unbreakable Danny is injured in a ghost attack and goes to Sam for a patch up. Cue the awkward moment when your parents meet your half dead boyfriend. (oneshot completed)

Danny Phantom (v)Logs The trio had to turn un a dvd project to Lancer’s class, if only Tucker was more organized and didn’t confuse their project with one of their log tapes. (oneshot completed)

Halfa vs Bully Danny was already having a bad morning but Dash just had to push his luck. Guess it’s time for Dash to learn the hard way by messing with a half ghost. The solution? A good old fashioned beatdown. (oneshot completed)

This is My Town The school is held hostage by a group of hardened criminals. Too bad the Ghost King doesn’t take to kindly to outsiders. (oneshot completed) 

Ouija Board Embarrassment Jazz tries to convince her college friends that ghosts are real and decides to pull a prank on Danny. (oneshot completed)

Getting Back Home The trio and their entire English class plus Lancer and Mr. and Mrs Fenton take a field trip to the Ghost Zone. A little innocent trip turns sour when they get stranded where ghosts are lurking around every corner. Can Danny save everyone without revealing his secret? (story completed)

Miraculous Ladybug

Marinette x Adrien

The Love Square Collection Oneshots that feature all sides of Marinette and Adrien. (wip)

Wednesday 

Xavier x Wednesday 

Charcoal Dust

Xavier makes a surprise gift for Wednesday on the anniversary of Nero’s murder. (oneshot completed)

A Couple That Tortures Together...

Wednesday discovers that Tyler is the hyde before Xavier is framed. She enlists the help of him and the Nightshades to torture the information out of Tyler. (oneshot completed)

Blood Smeared Lips

Xavier gifts Wednesday a unique necklace. How can she show him how much it means to her? (oneshot completed)

Bane of My Existence

Wednesday and Xavier remained in contact after that fateful day at the funeral. They write a series of letters to each other until the meet up again at Nevermore. (oneshot completed)

How to Train Your Dragon

Hiccup x Astrid

The Hiccstrid Collection Oneshots based on the relationship of Hiccup and Astrid. (wip)

Road to Victory 

Hiccup is one of the best motorcycle racers known as the Night Fury, the problem is no one knows its him. Can he lead his team to victory without blowing his secret? (story completed) 

Road to the Knight

Follow Hiccup and the gang on the summer adventure to find the racing legend the White Knight. (story wip)

Old Enemies

Old enemies arise and HIccup and his friends must stop them from creating an army that will destroy Berk. (story completed)

Heather’s Back

Someone comes back to visit Berk and not everyone will be thrilled. Can the gang trust her after betraying them once? (story completed)

Trollhunters: Tales of Arcadia

Jim x Claire

Change

What if Claire was the only one able to reach Jim on the school roof? Can she help him come to terms with his new half-troll self? (oneshot completed)

Homecoming

The Guardians of Arcadia take a well deserved break at Jim’s house and catch up. Jim also ha to face his mom who he hasn’t seen in months. (oneshot completed)

Finale

The final showdown between Jim and Gunmar goes a bit different. What would have happened if people saw his troll form? Or where teachers and students witness the awesomeness of troll Jim. (oneshot completed) 

Revenge

There is no where to run in school when Angor Rot returns. The trollhunters have to face him together even if it exposes the existence of trolls. (oneshot completed)

A Hundred Lifetimes

Jim struggles with his first night home and human. Claire finds a way to get back to him. (oneshot completed)

Worse than Death What if the scar Angor Rot gave Jim was permanent? How will he deal with the constant reminder that he’s marked for a fate worse than death? (oneshot completed)

Battle of Ice and Nature

How the battle between Nari and Skrael could have been and the class gets dragged into Jim’s bullshit. (oneshot completed)

Star vs. The Forces of Evil 

Star x Marco

Hoodie

Star decides to wear one of Marco’s hoodies to school after admitting their feelings for each other. (oneshot completed)

Saving the Ball

The Butterflys have to attend a prestigious ball and Star wants to bring Marco along. (oneshot completed)

Worth It Star and Marco get an unpleasant surprise when Toffee upgrades his army and things turn deadly. (oneshot completed)

Dreaming

Marco has a hard time falling asleep so he visits his favorite inter-dimensional princess. (oneshot completed)

Knight King

Marco accidently challenges princes to become King of Mewni. (oneshot completed)

Cleaved

When the newly minted Starco has to face off against Mina and Star must decide if she wants to destroy the magic to save her kingdom even at the cost of the person she holds most dear. (oneshot completed)

We Belong Together Star and Marco deal with the aftermath of their dimensions getting cleaved together. (oneshot completed)

Percy Jackson

Percy x Annabeth

The Percabeth Collection Oneshots about Percy and Annabeth. (completed)

Kim Possible

Kim x Ron

Friday Night Lights

Ron faces the challenge of going against their rivals the Lowerton Lemurs who they haven’t won against. Can Ron overcome his own challenges with the help of his bon-diggity BF/GF to win the big game? (oneshot completed)

Big Hero 6

Hiro x Gogo

Bot Fighting

Strapped low on cash, Hiro resorts back to his old ways to surprise Gogo with a gift of a lifetime. (oneshot completed)

Fear

Hiro was more hurt after seeing his brother than he lets on, it’s a good thing Gogo is there to help. (oneshot completed)

Injuries

After a run in with Globby, Hiro finds himself injured but he won’t take the time to rest. Can Gogo change his mind? (oneshot completed)

Villain After my Own Heart The gang realized the sidekick was Hiro but Gogo wasn’t at all accepting like in the episode. The revelation causes them to have a massive fight. (oneshot completed)

Exposed A different take on how Megan found out the identities of Big Hero 6 and how the others react to it. (Oneshot Completed)

Gum

Hiro surprises Gogo with some gum, the gang wonders how he knew what flavor she liked. (oneshot completed)

Second in Command

Debating on who is really Hiro’s second in command. (oneshot completed)

Batman/Young Justice

Dick x Barbara

Great to See You Again

Barbara has been living in Burnside for a few months now but someone familiar comes to visit her. (oneshot complete)

New Member

Batman introduces a new member to the team leaving how the other will react. (oneshot completed)

Rescue

Dick receives a call from Barbara...and isn’t good. Can Dick save her in time? (oneshot completed)

Unexpected Guest

Joke has kidnapped Commissioner Gordon and left Barbara in a compromising position. How will Dick react to seeing her with the team around him? (oneshot completed)

Meeting Batgirl

The team finally meets Batgirl but Batman calls them to go on a mission to stop the Joker. (oneshot completed)

Operation Dick Watching

The team spies on Dick and Barbara during their day off. (oneshot completed)

Too Easy The reason Dick and Barbara don’t do PE class. (oneshot completed)

Ben 10 

Kevin x Gwen

Aftershock of a Comet

Kevin rushes to the hospital after hearing Ben and Gwen where injured by Nesmith. (oneshot completed)

Everyday

Showing the everyday life of Gwen Tennyson. (oneshot completed)

Parental Permission

After Ben’s parents rescue Ben and Kevin, the rest of the team has to spring Gwen from her parental grounding. (oneshot completed) 

Charmed

Kevin attempts to apologize to Gwen for doubting her. (oneshot completed)

Keeping Up with the Tennysons

Cash and JT come up with a plan to star Ben’s team in a reality show to get famous. The added fame lands them into trouble...namely the paparazzi. (oneshot completed)

Randy Cunningham: 9th Grade Ninja

Randy x Heidi

Thank You

Heidi accidently gets a call from an injured ninja. Can she help him without finding out his secret? How does Howard react? (oneshot completed)

Motorcity

Mike x Julie

Defeat of Kane After the attack in the season finale, Kane humiliated and angry plans to destroy Motorcity and the Burners once and for all but a certain Mike Chilton will stop at nothing to protect his city even if it means taking down Kane forever. (story completed)

American Dragon: Jake Long

Jake x Rose

Return of the Huntsman

Jake Long and his friends have started high school. Everything was peaceful after the Huntsclan was destroyed. Now war is brewing and Jake and his friends are the only ones that can save the magical community. (story completed)

Rise of the Darker Dragon

After the permanent defeat of the Huntsman. It’s summer and Jake and his friends are growing up. Will their new found responsibility keep them from stopping this new evil that wants to enslave the rest of the dragons? (story completed)

#fics #fanfic #fanfics #fanfiction #ao3 #masterlist #zutara #danny phantom #miraculous ladybug #wednesday x xavier #httyd #kim x ron #starco #big hero 6 #ben 10 #dick x barbara #american dragon jake long #tales of arcadia #motorcity #randy cunningham 9th grade ninja #wednesdayaddams #svtfoe

[goldenlaurelleaveswrites]

Chords and Courtship ch 10

The Lady in Blue

Chords and Courtship (AO3)

I hope you enjoy!!

____________________________________________________________

The rain pelted down hard on them, freezing against his flushed skin. The wind was blowing the rain almost sideways now, and he had to keep a tight grip on the reins in his hand as the lightning and thunder were relentless. 

But despite all of that, all he could think about, all he could focus on, was the feeling of her hand on his arm. Small. And warm, despite the cold. Even through his sleeve, which was soaked through and plastered to his arm, the soft weight of her hand on his arm was enough to make lightning dance on his skin. And how beautiful she was. Even waterlogged. How the blue of his coat bought out her eyes and how the brilliant white light of the lightning made them shine bright in the darkness of the storm. And the way the raindrops clung to her long, dark lashes like tiny crystals. And the way her cheeks were flushed like a thousand roses in full bloom. 

And the sound of his name in her voice. 

Luka. 

Hearing his name in her voice had been like hearing his name for the first time. Even more than that, it had been like hearing music for the first time. The way she had said his name… it had made his heart quiver. It had been like reliving the moment he first remembered hearing a bow glide across the strings of a fiddle, back when he was nothing more than a wild bairn clutching at his ma’s skirts. 

He glanced down at her out of the corner of his eye; her eyes were glued to the ground as she carefully picked her way through the sodden meadow. But he could still see the rosiness in her cheeks and the curve of her smile. 

A smile of his own tugged at his lips, even as yet another new song tugged on his heartstrings. One of crashing thunder and blinding lightning and racing hearts and softly spoken names in the middle a tempest. 

Polaris suddenly tugged at the reins. 

“Shhh, easy, boy.” They had just crested the hill of the meadow, and his home was in sight. And Polaris seemed eager to get back to the nice, warm, dry stable. “We’re almost there.”

“Thank heavens,” she said quietly, shivering a little as she pulled his coat tighter around her. 

They hurried that last few meters across the grounds and ducked into the sanctuary of the stables. The soft, sweet and comforting scent of hay washed over him. Nyx, Juleka’s horse, poked her head out over the stall door and nickered in greeting. A second later, Trixx popped out from around the corner, the lamp light reflecting off his shock of red hair. 

“I was beginning to worry about you, Luka! I’m glad to see you and the poor beastie made it back- oh.” Trixx paused. But he was only phased for a second. And then his face morphed into feigned innocence. “I see we have a guest.” 

A far less pleasant heat flooded his cheeks. “Er… yes. This is Marinette Dupain-Cheng.” 

But Trixx already knew that. 

“A pleasure to make your acquaintance, mademoiselle.” 

He glanced down at Marinette. She was gazing at Trixx thoughtfully, but then she shook her head and smiled. “The pleasure is mine.” 

 Trixx turned his attention back to him. “You two should go in. I’ll take care of him,” he said, nodding to Polaris, “You’d best get out of your wet things before you catch cold. Kaalki would have a fit if you were to fall ill on her watch, mademoiselle.” 

He nodded in agreement. Gathering the reins in his hand, he patted Polaris’s neck and gave the whispered promise of a good meal and a nice warm stall. But before he could pass the reins to Trixx, Marinette let go of his arm. 

“Wait!” 

He froze. She was staring resolutely at Polaris. The entire way to the stables, he had been careful to keep himself between her and Polaris. Polaris was a gentle horse, but given she was afraid of them, it had seemed best. 

But now… he watched as she stepped up beside Polaris’s head so that she was in his sight. She cast an unsure glance back at him. He nodded to her, giving her a reassuring smile, which she returned unsteadily before turning her attention back to Polaris. 

Tentatively she reached out until her fingertips were just grazing Polaris’s neck. Hesitantly, she stroked Polaris, despite her obvious nerves. And he found himself falling even more in love with her for it. 

She jolted back with a yelp when Polaris turned and blew his breath into her face. He reached out to steady her but retracted his hand the moment she was steady, not wanting to overstep, despite how badly he wanted to keep his hand on her shoulder. 

“It’s alright,” he said. “It’s just his way of saying hello.” 

“Oh,” she said quietly before turning back to look at Polaris with furrowed brows. Over her head, Trixx shot him a teasing smirk that he did his best to ignore. But it was impossible to ignore the feigned love-sick face he saw Trixx shoot him. “How do I say hello back?” she asked, ignorant to the teasing looks of the stablehand. 

“Well, if you were a horse, you would return the gesture but-“ he stopped short when she leaned forward to gently blow her breath into Polaris’s face. 

“Hello, Polaris,” she said softly, with a tremor in her voice. It took all his willpower to keep his knees from wobbling. She turned to look back up at him, her cheeks flushing. “Like that? Or… oh! You were going to say something else, and that was so silly of me and-“

“No!” he cringed at the way his voice came out a little too strangled. “No, no,” he added more steadily, “that was perfect.” 

Her cheeks were still flushed with a rosy glow, but there was an utterly charming, shy smile curling across her face. Her eyes shimmered in the dim light of the stables. 

“Shouldn't you two be heading into the house to dry off?” He jolted back at the sound of Trixx’s voice. Fresh heat flared through his face at the look Trixx was giving him. 

“Y-yes. We should. Thank you, Trixx.” 

“Of course, sir. Happy to help,” Trixx said in a voice that promised he should be wary of any help Trixx might offer. And the wink he shot him over Marinette’s head as he ushered her towards the stable entrance was anything but reassuring. 

Together, they dashed out into the rain and towards the back door of the estate. A moment later, they were ducking under the shelter of the overhang of the door. 

She cast a worried glance back at the stables. “Won’t your staff… what if they tell someone?” 

He smiled gently at her and squeezed her hand in what he hoped was a reassuring gesture. “Your reputation will be safe, I promise.” 

“Luka! What a relief, we were beginning to worry-” They both jumped at the sound of Longg’s voice. His valet was standing in the now open doorway with towels strewn over his arm. As he glanced between him and Marinette, his worry morphed into dignified amusement. “Oh… I see we have a guest.”

“Is that him?” Kaalki’s voice echoed from within, and a second later, she appeared in the doorway, peering around Longg. “Oh, thank the heavens you are alright, Luka!” The moment Kaalki's eyes landed on Marinette, standing beside him, her worry-wrought face shifted into surprise. She shot him the briefest of pleased smiles, her eyes flashing in approval before turning her full attention to Marinette. " You poor thing, you’re soaked to the bone!" Kaalki ushered them in, and then took one of the towels from Longg, and began fretting over Marinette, trying to sop up the water from her hair. "Whatever happened to you, you poor thing.”

“It was raining.” He said rather stupidly as he took a towel from Longg. 

“Is it?” his valet asked with a raised eyebrow and bemused smile as thunder rumbled. “We had not noticed.” 

His cheeks grew warm. “Juleka and I stumbled upon her when we were returning home.” Understanding flashed in Kaalki and Longg’s eyes. Juleka had been curled up in their library when he had left for his ride, and he doubted she had moved from her chair since he had been gone. “Unfortunately, we were not able to beat the rain.” 

Longg scoffed, glancing down at the growing puddles of water on the floor. “So I see. I suppose someone should inform Sass that you are home, Luka. And that we have a guest. I am assuming you are staying the night, mademoiselle?”

“She certainly is,” Kaalki said before Marinette could so much as utter a word. “We are not sending her back out into that storm, and the hill road will be too slick for the carriage in this weather. I will have a guest room prepared. But first,” Kaalki said, holding out a coaxing hand to Marinette, “we need to get you out of these wet things.” 

 Marinette cast him one last look, and when he nodded, she smiled gratefully at him before moving towards Kaalki. “Thank you.” Kaalki’s face melted into an indulgent smile, and as she led Marinette away, she cast an approving smile back over her shoulder at him. 

He watched as the two women disappeared around a corner, heading in the direction of Juleka’s room. Beside him, Longg coughed quietly. And when he turned to look at his valet, he found himself on the receiving end of a wicked grin. 

“Right. Well. I should… I’m going to change into something dry,” he said hurriedly before fleeing as quickly as he could. The echoes of Longg's laughter followed him as he fled. 

He ducked past the members of his staff as he made his way to his room, trying to stay out of their way as he went. They were all in a flurry of busyness trying to arrange the final preparations for their ball as it was in two days’ time. 

But their haste and work did not stop a single one of them from giving him a knowing look or sly comment or, in Xuppu’s case, an ear-splitting whistle. 

Either his staff was all-knowing and all-seeing, or someone—likely Trixx or Longg, but possibly Juleka as she seemed to be aware of everything, even the things that seemed impossible for her to know about—had spread the word that Marinette would be staying the night. 

His face was still burning by the time he had made it to his bed chamber and changed into the dry clothes Longg had left out for him. No doubt by now, the entire household would know that Marinette was here. 

He just hoped no one would do anything to embarrass him. But knowing them… he was not optimistic. 

But even that was not enough to sink his spirits or the song that was vying to spring from his fingers. He tugged on his shoes and made his way to the music room.  

                                                        ***

His hand flew across the page as he tried to capture the melody enrapturing his mind. Hastily scribbled notes sprawled across the page like stars, organized into the story of blue eyes and white light and crashing heartbeats in a storm. 

He sat back with a sigh, his eyes following the notes he had penned until they reached their crescendo. Sudden and abrupt. Unexpected like a clap of thunder. 

And then the magic of a name.

Followed by another. 

And then walk in the rain, in the direction of home. 

The song was complete. But his hands were still itching. Which meant the only thing left to do was to play. 

He reached for his violin. The polished wood reflected the candlelight with warmth and familiarity as he rested it on his shoulder. And with an eye still on the sheet music—though the song was so fresh in his heart he didn’t need it—he put his bow to the strings. 

The music carried him away—as it always did—into another world that lived just at the edges of reality. It washed over him like the tide, carrying him out into the expanses of the seas, and it curled around him like a blanket. A perfect contradiction of the wild storm and the quiet stillness of a heart beating too fast. 

It was all too easy to get lost in the music. But at the same time, the music room was his domain. He was so finely attuned to it now, he could feel the changes in the energy of the room. Like when something akin to an invisible light filled the room. 

And even if he could not sense such changes, his hearing was good. 

Good enough to hear the sound of the door opening through his music. 

He turned to glance at the door, never once breaking from his playing. 

Until he saw her, and his bow stilled on the strings mid-note.  

Marinette. 

She was standing in the doorway, her hand still on the knob of the door and the other clutching her heart. Her eyes were wide as if she was seeing the stars in the night sky for the first time. And they were bluer than he had ever seen them. Brought out by he cornflower gown, far too long for her in the sleeves and skirts and yet still somehow looking like it had been made to make her eyes shine.

How was one supposed to breathe? He couldn’t quite remember. 

He could feel his mouth opening and closing as he searched for words that had simply ceased to exist in his mind. Tingling warmth ticked at his face, crawling its way down the collar of his shirt and up to the tips of his ears. 

“I’m so sorry!” she cried. “I- I didn’t mean to interrupt you,” her cheeks were turning the most beautiful shade of pink. “Juleka said you would not mind…” 

“I don’t!” His words were more of a yelp that he would have preferred, but the smile it brought to her face made any embarrassment of little consequence to him. “Please,” he said, lowering his bow to wave her in, “come in.” 

“Thank you,” she said, casting him an enchanting smile before stepping into the room. 

Only to reveal his sister standing just outside the doorway in the shadows of the hallway. With the most pleased and self-congratulatory grin he had ever seen on her face. And he knew, he knew in that moment, that it had been no accident that she had lent Marinette that gown. 

She had done it on purpose.

                                                        ***

They dined in the music room. The rest of the house—including the dining room—was being prepared for the ball, and the music room was one of the few places where they would not be in the way.  

But even the preparations for the ball were not enough to spare him from Sass and Kaalki. Despite the fact that there were preparations they both had insisted they needed to oversee, they had still somehow managed to find the time to serve dinner themselves. 

Of course, they acted the perfect butler and housekeeper as they served dinner, following all the stuffy class etiquette that society demanded. The etiquette none of them ever followed save when in the presence of company or when Kaalki deemed them becoming too rambunctious or out of practice. It had been almost a shock to him; he was now so used to the casual way they all interacted, especially since moving to the country. 

It had almost been a shock. 

Their knowing looks and glances and their hidden smirks were nothing out of the recent-ordinary.  

And they were impossible to ignore, as usual. 

It was a small mercy that they did not stay for the meal. Usually, the entire household ate meals together despite it not being protocol—they were essentially family, after all— and it was something he greatly enjoyed. But with Marinette here… 

Was it selfish that he wanted as much of her time to himself as possible? Of course, Juleka was with them, and it would be improper for him to be alone with Marinette… but it felt more intimate just the three of them. 

And Marinette seemed unbothered by the fact that Sass and Kaalki had left, despite one of Sass's duties—technically speaking—being to serve dinner. In fact, she had seemed, not surprised... but unaccustomed to being served her dinner. Sass and Kaalki had already taken a liking to her. Apparently, she had endeared herself to them when she had had tea with Juleka. But when she had thanked them when they brought in her food… Sass had positive beamed. And he was fairly certain Kaalki had started planning his wedding. 

If she had not already started doing so already… 

Dinner passed with easy conversation. And, despite her habit of leaving him utterly breathless, she was the easiest person to talk to. Even with Juleka’s watchful eyes gleaming, the conversation was easy. There were no pretences. No worries of what games might be played with words and niceties. Talking to her was as effortless as listening to a song. 

He had never met anyone so kind and sincere. He had never met anyone who put his heart at ease the way she did, even when it was skipping beats. 

She was extraordinary. 

Once they had finished eating and the dishes were cleared, Juleka announced that she was going to read and then promptly settled herself on the chaise that was pushed into one of the corners of the room. It was her way of saying she would act as their chaperone.

But he could not sink the suspicion that her intentions were not entirely pure. 

Especially as he had caught a glimpse of her black pocketbook. The one he suspected contained all the betting records… 

“I was thinking I might like to draw,” Marinette said, and his gaze immediately snapped back to her. She was smiling shyly at him, her eyes sparkling from under her dark lashes. “Would you… would you play something? Only if you wish to,” she added hastily, “I thought it might be nice to listen to you play, but if you are not in the mood-“ 

“I would be delighted to play for you.” 

She beamed at him, her hand already reaching for the stack of parchment Kaalki had brought in for her before dinner, when she froze. “And may I… May I look at your instruments?” Her gaze was lingering on his lyre, where it sat on an end table beside him. “I won’t touch them!“

“Please, by all means, and,” he reached out and plucked the lyre from where it sat. “I do not mind,” he assured her when she hesitated to take it. “You will be able to see the details of it better.” With a smile, she accepted the lyre almost reverently. Like it was something sacred. 

She studied the lyre as he reached for his guitar, which stood in its stand by the settee, waiting at the ready. He made quick work of tuning it, and as he plucked the first notes of an idle song, she placed the lyre on the sofa table and rose from her seat. 

She began to wander the room, pausing in front of each instrument to inspect them. He watched her with rapt attention as the song began to take shape in his hands; the steady, trickling notes of rain blended with the flickering warmth of candlelight and soft smiles. And when she rejoined him on the settee, the scratching of her pencil against parchment joined the song. 

 As he played, he stole glances at her. She was bent down over her parchment, her pencil flying across the page. But then he lost himself to the music and the image that was blossoming in his head of what future evenings could look like. Her with her sketches, or perhaps her sewing, and him with his music… 

He didn’t know how much time passed as he played, but when the last notes faded, he snuck another glance at Marinette. Her eyes were closed, and there was a smile on her face. She was still holding her pencil, but it was still. It wasn't even touching the page. Her parchment sat in a stack on her lap.

Her eyes fluttered open, and the beating of his heart wavered as she turned to smile serenely at him. 

“You’re not drawing,” he said rather stupidly. 

“Oh, I-“ her eyes dropped to the stack of parchment in her lap, her smile becoming shy as her cheeks flushed. “I find your instruments very inspiring. And your music… it is very easy to get lost in it,” she added softly. 

Heat bloomed in his face. “I.. Thank you.” He paused. “May I?’ he asked, gesturing to the stack of parchment.

She nodded. And once he had set his guitar down, she passed the entire stack to him. 

The first drawing was of a gown, with embroidery around the hem and neckline that reminded him of treble clefts. 

He paused with his hand hovering over the corner of the page and silently looked at her for permission. She nodded softly with a pleased, quiet little smile on her flushed face. 

He flipped through the pages in awe. In another gown, he recognized the scrollwork on his lyre. In another, the curve of the harp that stood in the corner. The embroidery on a pelisse was reminiscent of the silhouette of his violin. In a waistcoat, he saw curves of his sister’s cello. And in another, the delicate lines of the strings of his guitar. 

He flipped the page. There was an incredible likeness of Juleka; the bold and delicate strokes of the pencil had captured her quietness. But the glint in her eye was unmistakable and impossible to miss. It was his sister as she was. 

He flipped to the next page and froze. 

The nose was right, as was the jaw. The entire face was, in fact. And yet… 

Beside him, Marinette squeaked; as if she had only just realized what he was looking at. But he could not tear his gaze away from the page. “Oh! You weren’t supposed to see that!” Marinette gasped, mortification creeping into her voice. 

He tore his gaze away from the page to look at her. But she was no longer watching him. Her eyes were glued to her lap.

As if they had a mind of their own, his eyes flitted back to the page in front of him. He was both entranced and bewildered by the drawing. 

It was him. Every detail was as accurate as a a perfectly tuned instrument. And yet… there was something in it. Something he couldn’t name… Something he was not fit to have bestowed upon him…

 It was far too generous a likeness. 

“I don’t understand,” he said quietly. Hesitantly. Mindful of the way her cheeks were blazing and the way she was adamantly staring at her lap, he touched the page with his fingertips as if it were glass. “Is this-” 

“That is how you are.” 

“I-“ the words died in his throat. He hadn’t even noticed her drawing him. 

She glanced up at him from under her lashes. Her head was still ducked shyly, but she was smiling. “That is how you always are. At least,” she hurried to add, “how you are when I have seen you. But when you play…” she trailed off as she gazed at the instruments littering the room. “You are more.”

Warmth trickled across his face. 

Her eyes widened as they snapped back to look at him, and the flush in her face deepened. “I- I … I was hoping perhaps you could explain that bit of sheet music to me!” she stammered as she descended into embarrassed titters. She hastily stood and strode over to one of the numerous music stands strewn about the room and returned clutching a sheet of music. He stared down at the page in her hand. The notes had been messily scrawled across the page in his haste to write it all down. But the song of the storm was as clear on the page as it had been in his heart when he had penned and played it only a few hours earlier. 

Heat flooded his face. 

“I- yes. Yes, of course. I would be happy to explain…” he stammered. He swallowed thickly, willing the heat in his cheeks to cool. But the warmth did not subside. If anything, it grew warmer as she sat back down beside him, closer than before. “How much do you know of music?” he asked as he watched her place her sketches on the sofa table. 

“Very little, I’m afraid,” she murmured. “I don’t have any musical training. A- someone taught me to play a short jig on the pianoforte. But I can’t read music. What does mean?” she asked, pointing to the page.  

His heart fluttered when her eyes met his again. “That’s a chord.”  

“And a chord is?” Her eyes shimmered as she blinked up at him. She was sitting so close, he could count the freckles scattered across her face.

His breath caught in his throat. “A chord is three or more notes that are heard at once,” he murmured breathlessly.  

“And,” she bit her lip as she looked up at him, “what about when it is two notes?”

“That’s…” what was that called again? He had never forgotten a musical term since he was old enough to learn them. His ma often joked that his first word had been ‘clarsach.’ But with her sitting so close beside him, staring up at him with those blue eyes—made even bluer by her borrowed dress—and those rosebud lips and… and the way she was looking at his music with such reverence… He swallowed. “It’s called a- a…” did she realize how beguiling her smile was? Was his heart still beating? He couldn’t say if he was alive or- “It’s called a dyad.” His voice was nothing more than a croak. 

She ducked her head to look down at the sheet music. But he could still see the way her cheeks were flushing a rosy hue. And it was impossible to miss her quietly radiant smile. He watched as she delicately ran a finger across the page, tracing the notes of the song. “Would you…” she glanced back up at him, and he was fairly certain his heart did stop, “would you teach me to play? Just a note! Or maybe a chord. Or a… or a dyad….” 

He was already reaching for his guitar again. 

As he passed her the instrument, his hand brushed against hers. 

Her skin was soft and warm. The feeling of her hand brushing against his sent his stilled-heart spiralling into the stars.

Time slipped away. Or perhaps stopped, or maybe ceased to exist entirely. It was impossible to say. 

All there was—all he knew—was the guitar half in his hands. Her hands brushing against his as he showed her how to place her hands and hold the strings. And the way her eyes shimmered as he guided her through the notes.  

And between the notes, she shared bits and pieces of herself. 

She loved to sew and design and draw. To create. She had loved it ever since she first held a needle in her hand. She loved the soft mornings she spent helping her parents in the bakery—despite her dislike for waking early—because her parents were so dear to her, and she loved spending her time with them. She kept a diary of all her ramblings and wonderings of the world and dreams for the future. She was forever losing herself in the world of colour and textiles and what things could be.

She loved animals and wanted a cat. Or perhaps a dog. 

She dreamed of travelling and seeing the world, but she also loved her home. 

Her favourite flowers were lilacs. 

She shared the stories of her life in the village and glimpses into the world of beauty that existed in her mind. 

And for all she shared, he was only too happy to return in kind. 

She listened with rapt attention as he recounted stories from his travels. And when he spoke of his first time playing, truly playing an instrument, she listened with a level of understanding so sincere he knew she understood the feeling he spoke of. 

They traded stories, hopes, and dreams. And when her fingers grew sore and weary, she asked him to play for her again. 

She never had to ask. 

He played her songs in colours he had never known existed, watching with fascination as her pencil—once more in her hand—gave shape and form to the music in a way he had never envisioned, but could now see with perfect clarity. 

A perfect dyad slipped its way into the song. 

Sometimes their conversation carried along to the melody, and sometimes it faded to let the music speak for itself, ebbing and flowing as naturally as the tides.

Until the door flew open. 

“My goodness!” He jumped at the sound of Kaalki’s voice, his note cutting off sharp in a twang. Marinette jumped as well, almost dropping her pencil. “Have you not seen the time? It is late, and our guest-“ 

Marinette started to protest, saying something that sounded like ‘I am fine,’ but her words were lost in a yawn. 

“Our guest must be exhausted,” Kaalki finished firmly.  

Marinette shot him a sheepish smile. “I must admit, I am rather tired. I had an early morning helping my parents…” 

“I’ll show you to your room, mademoiselle.” 

He and Marinette both rose. “I’m sorry for keeping you up so late.” 

“Please, don’t apologize. I- I had a wonderful evening,” she said softly. “Goodnight, L…” she trailed off as her gaze flickered over to Kaalki, who was waiting in the doorway. But then her eyes met his again, glimmering with assuredness. “Goodnight, Luka.” 

His heart swelled. “Goodnight, Marinette.” 

Her cheeks went rosy again, but she smiled before turning to make her way to the door. 

“Good night, Marinette.” Marinette jumped at the sound of Juleka’s voice. He did as well. He had completely forgotten she had been there the entire evening… Guiltily, he glanced at Juleka, but she was just smiling sweetly—too sweetly— at Marinette. 

Who was suddenly flustered all over again. “Goodnight! Juleka!” she cried, with a guilt-wracked look. “I- I hope you sleep well.” 

 Kaalki coughed quietly, but there was an indulgent smile on her face. “Let us get you to bed, mademoiselle. These two are used to staying up at all hours, but you must be exhausted, especially after being out in that storm, you poor thing.” 

Marinette nodded. As she followed Kaalki toward the door, she glanced over her shoulder to give him one last, sweet smile.  He watched as she slipped through the door to the music room, covering a yawn with her hand as she disappeared into the hallway after Kaalki. 

“Hear my soul speak,” Juleka hummed in an entirely too smug a tone. He whirled around, only to find her draped across the chaise in the corner. The one he often fell asleep on if he found the trek to his room too far at the end of the day. Or the middle of the night. There was a wickedly smug smirk on her face that he did not like. “Of the very instant that I saw you, did my heart fly at your service…” she stood as she let her words trail off. 

Heat crawled across his face and up his ears. He turned his attention back to his guitar and made a show of tuning the already perfectly tuned instrument. “And just what is that supposed to mean?” 

“I believe the bard was quite clear in his meaning, but I suppose you are still trying to put the pieces of your mind back together after all of that. To be honest, I am amazed you are not still trying to put your mind back together after seeing her in that-“

Despite his better judgment, he whirled back to face her. “I know that was on purpose!” he cried indignantly. 

And that was a mistake. 

Juleka’s smirk morphed into a grin that could only be described as wicked. 

“She needed something dry to wear. What was I to do? Let her sit around in her wet things and catch her death?” she asked innocently. “Besides, I thought she looked rather lovely in blue. Did you not?” 

He wished he had some clever retort. Or a witty remark so that he could exchange verbal blows and parries with her. But as it was, all he managed was a strangled groan. 

“Jules…” he pleaded. 

“What? I cannot help it if you are a hopeless fool for her.” She yawned, rose, made a show of stretching, and then sauntered towards the door. She stopped and turned when she was in the doorway. “That is what he meant, Shakespeare, that is.” 

“Are those the bard’s words or your own?.” 

“You should read it; I think you would rather like it…” she ignored his question in favour of shooting him another sly, knowing smirk. “It’s from The Tempest…” 

                                                       ***

“I couldn’t possibly! It is too generous of you-“

“Please, keep it. I never wear it. I only have it because we had to wear blue to a party we had to attend while we were in England. Besides,” Juleka cast a quick, knowing glance in his direction that flooded his face with heat, “I am sure you will have more use for it than I ever could.” 

Marinette looked like she wanted to protest even as she glanced longingly at the paper-wrapped package in her hands. 

“Keep it, I insist,” Juleka added in a tone that was soft but left no room for argument. 

“Thank you for your generosity, Juleka.” The appreciative smile Marinette gave Juleka was enough to take his breath away. 

Of course, she had been leaving him rather breathless all morning. Ever since she had entered the dining room like the morning sun. The way she had smiled at him so brightly and softly as she bid him good morning… the way she had continued to smile at him as they broke their fast… it had been like feeling the warmth of the sun for the first time all over again.

And the conversation had been as effortless as it had been the night before. The meal had been filled with her brightly animated and cheerful conversation and warm smiles. She had even drawn Juleka out of her shell, and his sister had been rather talkative during the meal. Or at least what could be considered talkative for Juleka. 

If only all mornings could be such as this one had been. 

He started at Juleka’s cough. She and Marinette—along with Kaalki and Sass, who were standing a little off to the side—were all staring at him. The heat in his cheeks deepened. He had been entirely lost in reliving the glorious morning that had had to come to an end. 

He didn’t want to say goodbye. 

He didn’t want her to go. 

Even though she would be returning soon enough for the ball... He did not want her to leave. 

But she had to. 

She was smiling at him. That radiantly sweet smile that made thoughts difficult. “Thank you for…” she dropped her gaze as colour flooded her cheeks before peeking up at him through her lashes. “for everything you have done for me, Luka.”  

He couldn’t keep the giddy, fools’ grin from his face at the sound of her saying his name. “There is no need to thank me, Marinette.” He meant those words as much as he had when he had said them in the middle of the storm. Perhaps, he meant them even more now. 

Her smile melted into something even more beautiful when he said her name, and his heart tripped over itself. 

She bobbed small curtsies to him, Juleka, Kaalki, and Sass. And then she turned to the door. Halfway out the door, she cast a glance back at him as she clutched her package closer to her chest. When their eyes met, she smiled. And he knew her smile had been just for him. 

And then she was gone, and Sass was closing the door. 

“I believe that means I won.”

“What? Won?” He turned in time to see Juleka nod as she looked down at her pocketbook. Beside her, Kaalki was smiling smugly as Sass peered over Juleka’s shoulder. “You- you… isn’t betting unladylike?” he asked incredulously. 

Kaalki raised a brow. “Oh, Luka, you know very well that as long as it is not done too often, it is perfectly acceptable for a lady to take part in a friendly wager.” She strode past him, pausing long enough to give his cheek an affectionate little pat as she smirked. “Especially when a win is all but guaranteed.” 

“What?” he spluttered after her. But she just laughed airily as she turned the corner, calling out for Sass to follow her.  

Juleka snapped her pocketbook shut loud enough to make him jump. When he turned back to her, she was grinning like the cat that had caught the canary.  

___________________________________________________________

The Clarsach is one of Scotland's oldest instruments https://hellomusictheory.com/learn/scottish-instruments/

Horses and what it means when they breath into your face http://www.dba-oracle.com/horse_manners.htm https://horseyhooves.com/signs-a-horse-likes-you/

The Shakespeare quote: ‘Hear my soul speak. Of the very instant that I saw you, Did my heart fly at your service’ (The Tempest – Act 3, Scene 1)

Fun fact! Guitars are actually historically accurate to this time period!

It wasn't the housekeeper's job to serve dinner (it was the responsibility of the butler) but Kaalki wasn't about to miss out!

#regency au #endgame lukanete #lukanette endgame #pro lukamari #luka couffaine #marinette dupain cheng #polaris the horse #trixx #longg #kaalki #sass #juleka couffaine #idiots in love #regency idiots in love #fluff

[siderealscribblings]

I don't know why but the last title made me smile - NHNLNGNHE?

No Hope No Love No Glory No Happy Ending

This was some post-Rocketman "Adrien bushwhacks Hawk Moth in the bathroom and quits after returning the Black Cat/Monarch" plot bunny that really didn't go anywhere.

Here's all I got:

Ladybug: Is everything okay? 

Chat Noir: Fine

Chat Noir: FYI I'm leaving the Black Cat and Butterfly Miraculouses with Rena Rouge. 

Chat Noir: Mission accomplished. 

Chat Noir: I quit. 

Ladybug: WHAT?!

Chat Noir: Ladybug, do you have a minute to talk? 

….

Chat Noir: Listen, something important came up and I need your advice. 

…

[Call from Chat Noir to Ladybug] 

…

Chat Noir: Are you there? 

…

[Call from Chat Noir to Ladybug] 

....

[Call from Chat Noir to Ladybug] 

…

Chat Noir: You know what, I think I'll take care of it. 

Ladybug: Sorry! I was out all day with some friends doing stuff. 

Ladybug: What's up?

…

Ladybug: Chat? 

…

Ladybug: Is everything okay? 

Chat Noir: Fine

Chat Noir: FYI I'm leaving the Black Cat and Butterfly Miraculouses with Rena Rouge. 

Chat Noir: Mission accomplished. 

Chat Noir: I quit. 

Ladybug: WHAT?!

Ladybug: Chat, what are you talking about?!

Ladybug: Did you fight Hawkmoth?

Ladybug: Why didn't you call me?!

Ladybug: Wait, is this what you needed to talk about?!

….

[Call from Ladybug to Chat Noir] 

[Call from Ladybug to Chat Noir] 

[Call from Ladybug to Chat Noir] 

[Call from Ladybug to Chat Noir] 

[Call from Ladybug to Chat Noir] 

[Call from Ladybug to Chat Noir] 

[Call from Ladybug to Chat Noir] 

[Call from Ladybug to Chat Noir] 

[Call from Ladybug to Chat Noir] 

[Call from Ladybug to Chat Noir] 

[Call from Ladybug to Chat Noir] 

Ladybug: Chat you're scaring me; please pick up

[Call from Ladybug to Chat Noir] 

[Call from Ladybug to Chat Noir] 

[Call from Ladybug to Chat Noir] 

Ladybug: Chat, I know I've been busy and I haven't been talking to you as much but please just answer me. 

Ladybug: Whatever's going on, we can figure this out together!

[Call from Ladybug to Chat Noir] 

[Call from Ladybug to Chat Noir] 

[Call from Ladybug to Chat Noir] 

[Call from Ladybug to Chat Noir] 

[Call from Ladybug to Chat Noir] 

…

Alya: Mari, I found something on my balcony…

LINE BREAK

A crumpled piece of parchment with the words "Thanks for everything" scribbled on it crinkled as Marinette shakily unwrapped the package. Inside, a glittering purple butterfly brooch rested next to a heavy silver ring that seemed to confirm her best hopes and worst fears at the same time. 

"I don't...I don't understand," Marinette muttered as she ran her fingers over the butterfly brooch. "What happened?! When did you get these?! What did he say-" 

"Okay, breathe," Alya said, placing her hands on Marinette's trembling shoulders as she fumbled for the ring. "I found these on my balcony after I got home from school; I didn't see anyone take off or anything but-" 

"Plagg!" Marinette called, tapping on the ring. There was a stirring of light and a small black cat floated out, looking dejected. "Plagg, what's going on?! What happened to Chat Noir?" 

"He won," Plagg shrugged. "Kinda anti-climactic, all things con-" 

Plagg froze as he caught sight of Alya standing over Ladybug's shoulder. "Wait, what is she doing here?" 

"Hi, Rena Rouge," Alya said, awkwardly extending a hand to Plagg. "Don't worry; I know everything about Ladybug and the whole Guardian-stuff." 

Marinette squirmed in her seat as Plagg turned to face her. "She does, does she?" 

"Look Plagg, it's...it's really complicated," Marinette said, hoping a passing comet would fly through the window and rescue her from the miserable situation she found herself in. "I was going to tell Chat; I was just waiting until-" 

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Alya said, holding her hand up. "Chat Noir doesn't know about this? I thought you two were partners." 

"It's really complicated," Plagg parroted, an icy chill creeping into his voice. 

"Un-complicate it," Alya said, pulling up a seat next to Marinette. "Mari, I don't mean to tell you how to do your job, but this seems like something that should have maybe been brought up at some point…" 

"Yes! Okay, yes it should have!" Marinette blurted out, the overwhelming urge to end this conversation and just fix the mess driving her forward. "And everyone can be as mad as they want with me after we find Chat Noir." 

"There is no Chat Noir," Plagg sighed, accepting a cheek nuzzle from Tikki almost reluctantly. "He quit...well, resigned more like it. Mission accomplished, right? Guess he didn't much feel like sticking around after it came out that Rena and her boyfriend knew who each other were." 

"But he should have known that for a while," Alya said, turning to look at an increasingly pale looking Marinette. "Mari-" 

"How did he even find that out?" Marinette asked. 

"No, back up," Alya said, turning Marinette to face her. "What exactly is going on between the two of you?" 

"Nothing!" Marinette blurted out, before backpedaling. "I mean...okay, look there was some issues with my last master not trusting him or keeping him in the loop, but we've worked past that...right?" 

Plagg returned Marinette's pleading look with silence. 

"Okay, circle back around," Alya sighed, leaning down to Plagg's eye level. "How did he find out? I didn't tell anyone and Nino didn't-" 

Alya stopped dead in her tracks as Marinette turned to her. 

"Do you think Nino would have-" 

"No," Alya said, rubbing her eyes. "I mean...I can't imagine he would but...oh, this is such a mess." 

"Okay, fine, let's sort this out later," Marinette said, mind flailing for something to grab on to as she felt the ground beneath her feet fall away. "Plagg...who is Chat Noir?" 

"There is no Chat Noir," Plagg echoed, a petulant edge creeping into his voice. 

Marinette closed her eyes and took a deep breath through her nose. "Okay...who was Chat Noir?" 

"Well, there was Diomedes, Captain Pantera of the Black Claw Pirates around two hundred years ago, the Tiger Prince-" 

"The most recent Chat Noir, please!" Marinette said, patience snapping like a piano wire. 

Plagg regarded her question with a frown. "...isn't it better that you don't know?" 

"Not anymore, Plagg!" Marinette cried almost manically. "Hawk Moth is gone, right?! We don't need to worry about secret identities anymore-" 

"Seems you weren't that worried," Plagg said, waving at Alya. "Besides, you don't need him anymore, right? You've got plenty of partners to pick from and with Hawky out of the way, I'm guessing things will be quiet for a while." 

"It's not that I need him!" Marinette insisted, shaking her head. "This is wrong...this wasn't supposed to end like this!" 

"What does it matter how it ends? Chat Noir fulfilled his duty, right?" Plagg sniffed. 

"It wasn't just duty between us!" Marinette said, getting on her knees so she could look Plagg in the eye. "Plagg, please; I have to talk to him. Just one more time; just to explain myself. He's owed that, isn't he?!" 

"Plagg, please," Tikki pleaded. "I know you're loyal to...to your former partner, but don't you think he'd like to have a chance to hear Ladybug out?"

[valvalentintin]

Ok but what if when people use their Miraculous they get a bit bigger and buffer like Adora in She-Ra and while they’re still teens it’s just a minor change but when they’re adults they become like seven feet tall

#miraculous #ladybug #mlb #ml #lb #marinette #dupain-cheng #fan #art #fanart #un-smalls your marinette #my art

[itsnothappening]

secrets and lies | daminette

word count: +1.3k

summary: marinette was sorely regretting her decision to meet the entirety of damian's family, especially when he told her how many people were going to be in attendance.

a/n: so it's been two weeks...requested by someone on ao3.

ao3 | wattpad | prompts | masterlist

part 1 | part 2

"Come on, Damian," Dick whined, giving his youngest brother his best puppy eyes. "Why can't you introduce her to us?"

Damian sighed in irritation — this was the fifth time that day, that Grayson had been bugging him to meet Marinette officially.

"Because, Grayson," he said loudly, hoping that someone would come and save him from his misery. "I don't want to."

Dick narrowed his eyes at Damian. "Are you embarrassed of us?"

Groaning aloud now, Damian shook his head. "No, Grayson, not because I'm 'embarrassed' of you."

"Although," he muttered under his breath. "If I am embarrassed of someone, it's you."

Dick did not hear the comment and Damian thanked the universe for its small mercy. 

"That was mean, Damian."

Said boy jumped half a foot into the air, not hearing Marinette walking up to him. 

"Marinette?" Damian asked, suddenly despising the universe again. 

Of all the times she decided to visit him at WE.

"No, Dami," Marinette said sarcastically. "It's Chloe. Who else would it be?"

Dick was looking in between him and Marinette for Damian's reaction, but the only one happening was internal — specifically in Damian's body.

God, he was so screwed.

Especially when his older brother shot him a smirk that told him the entire family was going to know about his inability to talk like his normal self around Marinette.

"But anyway," Marinette drawled, turning to Dick. "I'm Marinette Dupain-Cheng. We haven't met officially, so I just thought I'd introduce myself."

Dick looked like he was about to scream with victory.

Damian really hoped he didn't because otherwise, his eardrums would be non-existent. 

Clearing his throat, Dick gave Marinette a sly smirk. "I'm Dick Grayson. I'm afraid the reason we haven't met is that someone here has refused to let the family meet you."

His following cough un-subtly implied the name, Damian. 

Marinette turned to Damian, shooting him a withering glare — something he was fairly used to considering their days in the League.

Turning away from him, Marinette shot Dick one of her sweetest smiles (at that moment, Damian would have killed to be Dick) and said, "Well, now that we've met, let me tell you. I would be absolutely delighted to meet everyone else."

Damian tried to interfere because dear god this was not going to end well, "Perhaps a little wait-"

"No." Marinette and Dick said in unison, both glaring at him. 

Damian was stunned into silence.

"Anyway," Marinette walked to Damian and pecked him on the cheek. "I'll see you in the lunchroom, Dami."

Resisting the urge to blush profusely, Damian glared at Dick as soon as Marinette's back was turned.

"I can feel your eyes on me, Dami," Dick smirked as he turned to his brother. "But I don't understand why you're glaring at me. I just did you a favour."

Damian grit his teeth and continued to glare. "I'm hoping you will spontaneously combust."

Dick waved casually as he walked out. "If you're worried about your inability to talk around your girlfriend, don't worry! No one except for Tim, Jason and Bruce will find out!"

Damian sighed as he rubbed his temples. 

The whole world was going to find out.

Marinette was sorely regretting her decision to meet the entirety of Damian's family, especially when he told her how many people were going to be in attendance. 

What was she thinking?

"And I believe Barbara and her father will also be joining us," Damian said, just casually stressing her out.

"Damian," Marinette turned to her boyfriend as he leaned against her bed, ticking off his fingers. "Can you shut up? You are seriously not helping."

Damian shrugged, a handsome smirk sliding across his face. "I don't like saying 'I told you so,' but-"

Marinette snorted at his failed attempt to 'berate' her. "The hell you don't; it's literally your favourite phrase."

His distraction was welcomed, but it wore off in a few minutes, Marinette's panic returning once again. 

Damian, ever the observant one, noticed and immediately, the smirk was wiped off his face. 

"Habibti," he said, the nickname slightly calming Marinette down.

Damian had taken to calling her that ever since they started dating, and to be honest, Marinette kind of loved it. 

"You are going to do amazingly," Damian said. "My family will love you."

When Marinette didn't look convinced by that, Damian smirked and said, "Grayson already does — the others won't be far behind."

Marinette laughed at that, her panic slightly lesser than before. 

Damian smiled at her as he held his hand out. "Shall we?"

"We shall."

So far, the evening had been quite fun, if Marinette could say herself. 

Damian's family was by far the most down-to-Earth group of celebrities she had ever met, and Marinette had met a lot of them. 

Jon was literally the brother she never had, sharing all the same tastes as her. Safe to say, they got on amazingly. 

But one thing was bothering her. 

Did they know how she and Damian met?

Because each time someone asked them how they met, they'd talk about the whole — excuse her language — Lila debacle. 

Not about how they actually met.

And that's where Marinette's anxieties came in. 

What if they didn't know? What if, when they found out, they would hate her? What if they would stop her from talking to Damian?

Suddenly, Marinette couldn't breathe anymore — when did the room become so small? 

Everything suddenly seemed too bright, the voices were too loud, what was happening to her?

Breath coming out in pants now, Marinette pasted a smile on her face as she asked Barb where the restroom was. 

"Is everything alright?" Barb asked, no doubt noticing the panic in Marinette's eyes.

Not wanting to make things worse, Marinette nodded weakly, breath coming out at an alarming pace. 

Tears burned Marinette's eyes as she slumped against the bathroom door, the sudden silence most definitely welcomed.

She had only been there for a few minutes when a soft but firm knock was heard on the door. 

"Habibti?" A deep, familiar voice asked. "Is everything alright?"

Marinette felt her panic recede slightly, but she was still unable to answer him. 

"Gordon told me you left in a hurry," Damian said and was about to knock again when the door opened slowly.

Marinette peeked out, and at the sight of her slightly bloodshot eyes, Damian reached out to her and pulled her into a warm, tight hug.

Feeling tears well up in her eyes again, Marinette was ashamed to say that she ugly-cried all over Damian's jacket.

How pathetic.

Damian didn't seem to agree, his hand running through her hair as he calmed her down.

It took a few minutes, but eventually, they got there. 

"What happened?" he asked, looking at her with worry in his eyes. "If someone said anything I swear—"

"No, no," Marinette said, her voice hoarse from crying. "It's just—"

Her voice was small as she said, "Do they know that I was—"

"—in the League of the Assassins?" Jon asked appearing out of nowhere.

Both Damian and Marinette jumped. 

Marinette was sure Damian even yelped.

"Kent." Damian said sharply. "Try to be a little louder next time."

Rolling his eyes, Jon turned to Marinette, giving her a kind smile. "Let's be honest here, Mari, you can't hide anything from the Waynes. It's practically impossible."

"So they know?" Marinette asked, still with Damian's arm wrapped around her. 

Jon nodded in confirmation. "Yep. Known for quite a while actually."

Marinette felt the tension leave her body as she smiled in relief, feeling a bit stupid for crying about something like this. "Oh, thank kwami."

Both Damian and Jon froze, eyes open wide.

It took a few seconds for Marinette to realize she slipped up. 

Big-time.

"What did you say?" Damian asked, eyes wider than Marinette had ever seen them. 

"I—" Marinette stuttered. "I can explain—"

"Holy shit," Jon said, eyes practically bugging out of his head. "Marinette's Ladybug?"

Clark's ears perked up as he heard Jon's voice, particularly loudly. 

What he heard made him nearly crush his glass into tiny pieces as he repeated what Jon said. 

"Marinette's Ladybug."

He really wasn't expecting Tim to give Jason fifty dollars, grumbling. 

Jason smirked as he pocketed his money. 

"I knew I would win that bet."

[miraculouscontent]

A Change of Heart (post-”Miraculous New York”)

"Kaalki, divide!"

Ladybug felt Kaalki's light wash over her, the kwami emerging and flying a small distance away. They were up on one of the rooftops in New York, overlooking an interview that was happening on the street.

Kaalki hummed in interest, taking the time to see the tall buildings. "What a grand city." Then, her gaze dropped down and she squinted, adding with distaste, "Quite crowded though."

"There's an interview going on right now. That's why. One of their supervillains was just taken down," Ladybug explained, placing her foot up on the edge of the building and peering down to look at the crowd.

"And, what precisely are we here for?" Kaalki asked, hovering near Ladybug's face to follow her gaze.

"Not what, but who. We’re here to see Eagle," Ladybug answered, pointing at the eagle-themed superheroine being interviewed. The crowd was enthusiastically cheering at just about every answer Eagle was giving, and Ladybug couldn't help smiling at the fact that the person she gave the miraculous to was still doing well.

As the interview came to an end, Eagle's eyes shifted from the interviewer to Ladybug, who had made sure to be where the red-and-black of her suit would stand out; she wasn't exactly the definition of "stealthy," and it worked to her advantage in this case.

Eagle jumped up to the nearest rooftop, then waited for the crowd to disperse before leaping over to where Ladybug was. "Hey, Ladybug! What are you doing here?" Her brows creased in seriousness, and she held her fists up like she was raring for a fight. "Did Hawk Moth come back to New York?"

Ladybug waved dismissively. "No, no, it's nothing like—"

"Pardon me," Kaalki said, making sure she was loud enough to be heard. She puffed her chest out haughtily and gestured to herself with a hoof. "I'm Kaalki, the kwami of migration. Pleased to meet you," she said, her tone forced as to imply that she didn't appreciate being ignored.

"Uh... hi," Eagle greeted flatly, then looked to Ladybug for an explanation.

"Sorry about her. She was my ride." Grabbing Eagle's wrist and leading her to the center of the rooftop, where they were less likely to be seen from the streets, she explained, "Anyway, I came here because I was hoping that I could get your help."

Eagle leaned to the side, curious. "My help? What for?"

"Well..." Ladybug hesitated. "This is going to sound like a weird request, but..."

—————

Eagle crossed her arms in thought, still seemingly absorbing the explanation. "You want me to use Liberation on you? To get rid of your—"

"—romantic attachments," Ladybug cut in stiffly, the word 'crush' and 'love' sounding extremely un-Ladybug-like. She blushed in embarrassment and looked away, bringing a hand up to partly hide her face. "Listen, I know you probably don't get this sort of thing. It's already awkward to talk about it while I'm Ladybug, but—"

"No, I get it," Eagle assured, though her expression was neutral.

Ladybug looked at her in surprise. "You do?"

With a slight roll of her eyes, Eagle replied, "Okay, so I don't get all the love stuff exactly, but Uncanny Valley has her own thing for me to deal with. She always wants to help people; she can't help it. Besides, Liiri says that there's always something stopping people from reaching their full potential. Sometimes it's bad, sometimes it's good, and it's my job to figure out what it is." She glanced Ladybug up and down, as if to gauge something. "You really think it's that bad?"

Ladybug responded with a wince, bad memories already starting to surface.

"Alright, wow," Eagle said, hands raised as she took a step back, the reaction having already convinced her while she herself clearly wanted no details about it. "Are you ready then? You know this is only going to last five minutes, right?"

"Wait—" Ladybug blinked in surprise. "You're really going to help me?"

"Yeah?" Eagle replied. Half-offended, she asked, "Did you really think I wouldn't?"

"No! Sorry!" Ladybug rubbed the back of her head sheepishly. "You'd be... surprised, by how bad this stuff usually goes for me."

For a moment, Eagle looked tempted to ask, but shook off the thought just as quickly. Placing her fists to her chest, her gaze went firm, showing that she was ready.

Ladybug stood in place, almost nervous at the prospect of doing this. She was essentially taking out a piece of herself, but it was the only way to test it; the only way to know for sure.

"Liberation!" Eagle called out, spreading her arms as a single light burst out of her.

Ladybug flinched, her fighting instinct kicking in, but she held firm and let the light touch her. For a moment, she was frozen, able to sense Eagle's presence in her mind and even hear her voice. Eagle's voice was calm, but tempting, offering the freedom so desperately desired.

"Ladybug, your love has taken over your life. I release you from it!"

—————

Marinette quickly stashed the glasses in her purse as she checked her phone's timer. She had four minutes and forty-five seconds to do this, and she took a steady breath before stepping out of the alley she'd been hiding in.

As she raced across the street, the fencing students were just filing out out of Françoise Dupont. The moment she saw Kagami and Adrien leaving, she raised a hand, raising her voice so she'd be heard. "Hey, Adrien!"

Adrien and Kagami stopped and glanced her way. Adrien turned to Kagami, saying something and briefly tilting his head in Marinette's direction. Kagami nodded at him in response, and they separated, Kagami heading in one direction and Adrien heading in Marinette's.

At first, Marinette was nervous, her worst case scenario being that Liberation had truly failed or worn off when she de-transformed, or that her feelings were somehow so strong or messed up that even Liberation somehow couldn't help her.

Yet, as Adrien approached, she found that she wasn't shaky at all. Her heart wasn't pounding either. She didn't even feel the slightest bit of awe from his presence.

She was normal. She was okay.

"Hey, Marinette," Adrien greeted with a smile. "Did you need something?"

It took her a moment to answer, still stunned that it'd worked and she'd truly been freed of her crush, even if it was for five minutes. "Oh. No, actually, just..." She reached into her purse and pulled out her phone, checking the time, then kept it at her side as she asked genuinely, "How was fencing?"

Adrien looked briefly caught off guard, though whether he was surprised at her acting differently or just the question was anyone's guess. He then brightened, replying excitedly, "It was great! I got paired up with Kagami again, and you know how Mr. D'Argencourt is with fencing, so he..."

The conversation continued as nothing but casual from there, and Marinette almost felt silly at how amazed she was by such a simple thing. It was actually like she was Adrien's friend; like they were on the same page and she could actually hold a conversation with him. He looked and talked the same way he always did, yet she was perfectly fine. Students passed by and maybe tossed them a brief glance, but completely ignored them otherwise because she wasn't acting "weird."

At worst, she was grinning just a little wider out of the pleasant surprise of the whole thing.

When she'd first thought to "liberate" herself of her feelings for Adrien, she was certain she'd be disappointed by it. She honestly thought that she would see Adrien and miss the heart fluttering, the weak knees, and the sheer dreaminess he used to radiate.

But she was wrong. With her crush gone, she could see herself from an outside perspective and reflect without fretting over the things she would've otherwise. Where she thought there'd be disappointment, there was relief that she could actually breathe and not turn into a mess around him. Her mind wasn't clouded with thoughts, and her eyes could drift wherever she wanted without some brainless thought intruding and warning her that she might miss Adrien blinking if she looked away.

She'd needed this. It was nice; more than nice even. Is this how it could be all the time if she truly moved on from him? No more mocking, no more jealousy, no more "crazy Marinette"? It'd be like a celebrity crush that she grew out of; an embarrassing memory of the past and nothing more.

More importantly, she would remember this. She would remember this feeling; the sanity of not being in love with Adrien, or not feeling whatever that emotion was actually called. To say the word "love" seemed so... wrong.

Still mid-discussion with Adrien, Marinette's phone suddenly beeped with a warning message. She turned it in her hand, seeing that she'd properly set the timer earlier to warn her when there was a minute and half left of Liberation.

Adrien leaned over to look at the screen, but jumped when a loud honking noise abruptly sounded off from behind him. Marinette tried not to snicker, but it was difficult; seeing someone else be the jumpy one was quite the experience, and she'd have to remember that too.

Adrien looked over his shoulder at his limo waiting for him, then glanced back at her apologetically. "Sorry, I gotta go. Can we talk later?"

"Oh, sure! Definitely!" Marinette stashed her phone back in her purse, then waved to him. "See you tomorrow!"

"Bye, Marinette!" Adrien exclaimed, waving as he rushed off. "It was fun talking to you!"

"You too!"

Marinette pursed her lips, trying to contain herself as she watched Adrien get into the limo and ride off down the street. She waited until it was out of earshot, then let herself start squealing, even hopping around and doing a twirl for effect.

"M-marinette?!" Tikki called, concerned. "Did it wear off? There's still time—"

"I'm gonna delete all my Adrien pictures!" Marinette exclaimed. "And take down that disaster of a wallpaper!"

"W-wHA—!!" Tikki gaped. "Marinette, when your feelings come back—"

"That's future Marinette's problem! This feels great!" Marinette cheered, having to suppress her excitement just so she could talk. Raising one hand dramatically, she placed the other to her chest, saying to no one in particular, "Oh, what's that? Me, crushing on Adrien? Ew, no way! We're just friends!"

She laughed triumphantly, a bounce in her step that made it seem almost like she were jogging. She crossed the street, reaching for the bakery door's handle and practically singing to herself, "Just friends~ We're just friends~ Me and Ad~ri~en are just good—"

She paused as she opened the door, seeing a familiar mix of blue and black standing at the counter and talking to her parents. At the chime of the bell, all three looked over at her, Luka's smile welcoming and his lips partially coated in white from what seemed to be a powdered donut.

"Hey, Marinette," he greeted. "We were just talking about you."

"Oh, he's such a sweetheart," Sabine cooed. "He came all the way here just to see you."

Luka blushed a light shade of pink at the obvious teasing, Tom jumping in to exclaim, "And he really thought he had to pay us for sweets! I told him, you're friends with our daughter, you better not put a single coin on that counter, young man!"

The three had a laugh together; clearly, they'd been getting along before she came in.

Yet, Marinette's smile fell from her face, a mental 'oh' echoing in her mind.

She hadn't even considered Luka when she'd thought of taking away her crush on Adrien, but it made sense; Eagle had said love, and Marinette wasn't foolish enough to think that she hadn't felt anything romantic for Luka. It only made sense that her crush on him would go too.

But it wasn't the same. The relief didn't follow the lack of feeling. With Luka, there'd always be a little leap in her heart, then a wave of calm washing over her, but neither were there and she couldn't help feeling disappointed.

Luka's smile disappeared as he noticed her expression. He approached, concern written all over his features. "Marinette?"

They were friends at that very moment; that was all the feeling she had on the matter, but she wanted what she'd had before. She remembered his confession at the TV station and yearned for the warmth in her cheeks when he stared at her and told her how much he loved her with words that were entirely his own; words that told her that he loved her as herself and filled her with a confidence she seldom had outside of being Ladybug.

Everything clicked. Her crush on Adrien represented stress, anxiety, and losing herself, but her crush on Luka represented peace, happiness, and being herself.

She missed how she felt about Luka. She didn't miss how she felt about Adrien.

That was all the answer she needed.

Almost on cue, her phone beeped again, this time to signal that Liberation was over. Marinette took in a shaky breath as she felt pleasantly familiar emotions rush through her again, and she welcomed them back like she would an old friend.

Luka's blue eyes gained vibrance and allure, his lips being coated in powdered sugar suddenly became incredibly cute, and she could think of him as no less than the most handsome boy in the world.

"...Sorry," she said breathlessly, waving a hand to assure him that she was alright. "Let's just say I went through a lot of emotions today. I'm happy to see you, really!"

Luka's smile came back, filling her with its warmth. "I'm glad," he said in relief. Then, taking a glance at her purse, which was still letting out a muffled, melodic beeping noise, he asked, "Sorry, do you have to be somewhere?"

"Hm? Oh, no, not really." She took out her phone to shut off the timer, then flashed him the screen before closing the app and storing the phone back in her purse. That done, she paused to consider things, then dared a glance back at him. "Hey... can we walk for a while?"

He blinked, mildly surprised, but nodded. "Sure. Did—" He froze, apparently only now realizing that he had powdered sugar on his lips. He swished his tongue around to lick it off, then started over with, "Did you want to talk about something?"

Smiling almost smugly in response, she felt confident enough to offer him her arm, as if he were a damsel she was leading around. She'd never seen his eyes widen quite so much before, but he also didn't protest, happily taking hold of her arm.

Knowing that her parents would just be giving their looks of approval if she glanced back, she stepped out of the bakery and led Luka towards the park.

"So, it took a little longer than I hoped, but... do you remember when you were talking about me getting clarity?"

#MC's Writing #writing: story #special: Miraculous New York #Lukanette Endgame #((the New York special: *creates power that would give Marinette the clarity she was looking for*)) #((also the New York special: *does nothing with it*)) #Pro LukaMari #Lukanette

[marauderundercover]

Taking Chances Chapter Seven: Trying for Normal (Gifts)

Prev

AO3

“You can not honestly tell me you are thinking of announcing that girl as your daughter.” Damian says, his scowl deeper than Dick had seen it in a while.

“‘That girl’ has a name, Little D. Plus she’s your sister.” Dick says, resisting the urge to nudge him. They had gotten to the point where a small nudge wasn’t a death sentence, but Damian was on edge. And a small nudge would probably not be appreciated.

“I do not care what her name is, Grayson. Since coming to Gotham she has been involved in two separate Rogue attacks. She is suspicious at best, and a nuisance at worst.” He replies, crossing his arms.

“Enough, Damian. Marinette is not a nuisance. She simply has bad luck.” Bruce says, obviously trying to defend his daughter.

“And poor self-preservation skills. Talking back to the Joker? Snarking the Riddler? For an individual with no combat training, she gets much too involved in attacks. It is idiotic.” Damian argues, shaking his head.

“It might have something to do with the Paris situation. She said she’s been at attacks before, so she must have some experience with villains. And from what I read on the Ladyblog, none of the damage in Paris lasts. She just may not realize how dangerous it is for her to do here what she would do in Paris. We just need to warn her, or, at least remind her, that Gotham is a dangerous place.” Dick says, thinking back to her reaction to the Riddler and the Joker. She was definitely more tense with the Joker, despite the fact that both villains had arrived with armed goons. Maybe she thought the Riddler was less likely to kill someone, not true. Or maybe she- Dick frowns as he remembers a key difference between the attacks.

“I just realized something.” He says with a frown.

“Care to share with the rest of the room, Dickiebird?” Jason asks, strolling in and flopping onto a chair.

“She was more tense at the attack with the Joker, she seemed to understand that it was a dangerous situation. Sure, she talked back to him, but she didn’t try to fight back or anything. But at the attack with the Riddler, he wasn’t even targeting her at first. He was targeting the boy she’d been talking to. And she was more reckless, and then she fought back. She fought well, but it was still super dangerous.” Dick rambles, pacing as he explains the predicament.

“Is there a point to this? I feel like I walked in at the wrong time.” Jason calls out from his chair, feet propped up on the table in front of him.

“My point, Jay, is that Marinette has a crush.” Dick says, shuddering at the word like it’s something disgusting. (It is, his sister is too young for crushes and boyfriends).

“Is that why she ran off with him right after the attack?” Jason asks with a smirk. Dick feels his eyes practically shoot out of his head.

“She what!?” He yells, running over to the Batcomputer to look at the security footage from the wax museum. Spots that were targeted frequently, like the wax museum, had their security footage directly linked to the Batcave. Just in case of an emergency or in case an attack happened and they needed an extra set of eyes.

“I’m sure she didn’t do anything that you wouldn’t do.” Jason teases, and Dick pales.

“Shut up, Jason!” He moans, his typing turning frantic as he scrolls through the day’s footage. He stops when he gets to the moments after the battle. When the phones of the French students had all gone off. Frowning, he watches as his sister runs up to the boy and grabs his hand, leaning in and whispering to each other before the two run out of the room. Towards the bathrooms. Oh hell no. Dick scrolls forwards, frowning when they don’t come out in five minutes. Or ten minutes. Huffing, he switches to the cameras aimed at the exits. Surely one of the cameras had to catch the pair leaving the museum. He rewinds it and watches, but...there’s nothing. They don’t leave the bathrooms and they don’t leave the museum. For the rest of the day.

“Has anyone been in contact with her since the attack?” Bruce asks from right beside him, making him jump out of his seat with a yelp.

“I don’t even have her number.” Dick says, resisting the urge to glare at his adoptive father. He might’ve had Marinette’s number had Bruce actually acted like he wanted her to be there for dinner the other day. Instead, he practically ignored her and she left. And now she was missing. Definitely missing, because she never came out of the bathroom at the museum.

“Hello, Marinette? Yes, I apologize for calling so suddenly. I was- yes. Yes, I did hear about the attack….yes, that was part of the reason I was calling. I was wondering if you would like to come to dinner at the manor. You could bring your friend, Adrien Agreste, I believe was his name. Of course. Yes. Oh no, I’ll send a car. No, no I assure you it- Marinette please. Taxis aren’t always safe after dark. Thank you. Yes, I- we’ll see you then. Goodbye.” Bruce hangs up, and Dick looks at him, raising an eyebrow.

“Just gonna suddenly invite her and her boy toy to dinner, B? What’re you gonna do, interrogate them?” He asks frowning.

“That’s the second time that Marinette has ran off after that alarm. I’ve seen videos of the situation in Paris and I’m concerned. Now go upstairs and act normal. I want all of you on your best behaviors at dinner. Damian, better than best please. No weapons.” Bruce directs before leaving the room, presumably to ask Alfred to pick up Marinette. Dick sighs and looks at his brothers.

“Well this isn’t going to be a disaster or anything.” He says. --- “Tikki this is going to be a disaster!” Marinette whines, throwing herself face first onto the bed. She tries to ignore Tikki’s amused giggle. This was not funny. This was dinner with her family that she hadn’t made a great impression on the first time. And Adrien was invited, and she wasn’t sure where the two stood but she was sure that if Dick was at dinner, he would just push Adrien farther away from her.

“I could practically hear your suffering from Adrien’s room, pigtails.” Plagg says, making Marinette sit up and glare at the Kwami.

“Are you just here to mock me?” She asks, pouting. He snorts.

“No, I’m here to tell you the kid’s on his way over here. I told him you were panicking and he practically ran out his door.” Plagg says with a chuckle. Rapid knocking on the door makes him laugh more before dropping onto the bed next to Tikki. Marinette sighs, rolling off the bed and pulling the door open, jumping forward in time to catch Adrien before he completely falls to the ground.

“Are you okay? Plagg said you were panicking, did something happen?” He asks quickly, looking her up and down. Marinette blinks, slightly taken aback by his sudden concern. It was nice, but still a lot all at once. Shaking her head, she gestures for him to come in and shuts the door behind him. Walking back over to the bed, she once again face plants and groans.

“She’s nervous because Mr. Wayne invited the two of you to dinner.” Tikki chirps, giggling when Marinette lifts her head up enough to glare at her.

“Traitor.” She says, dropping her head back down.

“If you don’t want me to go with Marinette, I won’t.” Adrien says. Marinette immediately jumps up, shaking her head rapidly.

“No, no that’s not what I meant. I just- I’m nervous about actually sitting through a dinner with them. And I’m pretty sure Dick will try and sit between us and glare at you like he did at the museum.” She admits, cursing the way her cheeks heat up. Adrien raises an eyebrow.

“He was glaring at me?” He asks, utter confusion on his face. Marinette groans, dropping her head into her hands.

“Sometimes your obliviousness is cute-”

“You think I’m cute!”

“But right now, it’s kinda making me want to scream into my pillow.” Marinette admits, giving him her signature “not amused” look. A look she usually saves for when Chat Noir is making a pun.

“Wait, why wouldn’t Dick like me?” Adrien asks, thankfully stuck on that now instead of the fact that she thinks he’s cute.

“Um, maybe because we were holding hands? Did you really not notice how he kept standing in between us the entire time we were at the museum?” Marinette asks, suddenly unsure if she’d imagined the whole thing.

“Oh no, I did. I just didn’t think it meant he didn’t like me. I’ve never really dealt with siblings before. I mean, I’ve met Nino’s little brother but...that’s about it.” Adrien says, nervously rubbing the back of his neck. Marinette sighs, grinning softly.

“I don’t really have a lot of experience either, so maybe I was just imagining things.” She admits. Adrien’s shoulders instantly relax and she smiles. Maybe this wouldn’t be so bad.

“So, did you want me to come with?” He asks after a moment of silence. Marinette nods, agreeing immediately.

“Please. I don’t think I can go back there alone, not yet anyway.”

“Of course, Mari. Now, what’re you wearing?” --- The ride to Wayne Manor wasn’t as quiet as her first, with Adrien making quiet jokes and saying things to try and help keep Marinette out of her head. She was thankful that he had come with, because she was definitely going to need the emotional support to get through dinner. The car stops and Marinette sucks in a deep breath. Smoothing out her skirt nervously, Marinette glances at the small, neatly wrapped package sitting between her and Adrien. It was something she had started back when she first found out she was adopted. And that her parents didn’t know her bio dad. A scrapbook with copies of everything important from her life: baby pictures, school pictures, birth announcement, report cards, clippings from newspapers where she had won or placed in contests, pictures of her early designs and recent designs, pictures of certificates and trophies from various competitions and activities. Basically a road map of her life to be given to her bio dad so that he could get to know her. She’d written her name on the front page, with the words “daughter of Bruce Wayne and Bridgette Le” underneath. A sort of amendment to her birth announcement which listed her as the daughter of Tom and Sabine Dupain Cheng. And while she definitely was their daughter, she also wanted Mr. Wayne to know that she wanted to be his daughter too. Not just by blood, which isn’t the important part. No, she wanted to get to know him and for him to get to know her. Pushing down the intruding thoughts insisting that it was too soon and that he didn’t want her in the first place, she opens the car door and steps out, clutching the package to her chest like a safety blanket.

“Would you like me to take that for you, Miss Marinette?” Alfred asks, glancing at the package.

“Oh, no thank you Alfred. It’s for my da- er, um, Mr. Wayne. I can hang onto it.” She says with a bright smile. She could do this. Sure, it didn’t go great the last time she was here. And she was pretty sure Mr. Wayne’s youngest son could kill her and wanted to kill her. But it was fine. Everything is fine. Walking through the front door, her shoulders relax slightly when she sees Dick is the only one standing there waiting for them.

“Marinette! He cheers, rushing forward and picking her up in a hug. As in, legitimately picking her up. Okay then.

“Good to see you too.” She says, trying not to show that he’s literally suffocating her with the hug.

“Good to see you again, Dick!” Adrien says cheerfully. Marinette feels Dick tense before setting her down, his smile less bright as he looks at Adrien.

“And you. Adrien, right?” He asks, sticking his hand out for a handshake.

“Yup!” Adrien says cheerfully. Marinette watches cautiously, noticing that Dick seems to be squeezing a little too hard….and then Adrien appears to match his strength, if the look on Dick’s face is anything to go by. Marinette coughs to hide a snort, her face heating up as both boys turn to look at her.

“Uh, is it just you and Mr. Wayne tonight?” Marinette asks, choosing to ignore their awkward handshake.

“Nope! It’s me and Bruce and Alfred, of course, and Jay and Tim and Damian and Cass. Steph’s not in town and Babs is having dinner with her dad.” Dick says, and Marinette’s eyes widen. There were a lot more people in her bio dad’s family than she thought. She knew about the boys, but she hadn’t seen anything about Cass, Steph or ‘Babs’.

“I didn’t realize I had sisters too.” She says instead of voicing her insecurities. Before she only had the boys to measure up against, now she had three girls too?

“Well, the only official sister is Cass. Steph used to date Tim and she just kinda stuck around. She’s practically family at this point. And Babs and I used to date, but again, she stuck around after and now she’s practically family.” Dick explains with a grin and a shrug. Cause having your exes around isn’t awkward. Or, maybe it isn’t. She doesn’t have any exes to compare it to. Just as she starts to get lost in her thoughts, she feels Adrien brush against her gently. Reminding her that he’s there, for her, giving her the strength she needs to follow Dick into the living room. Where everyone else was sitting. Oh boy.

“Marinette, so glad you could join us. And Mr. Agreste, nice to see you again.” Bruce says, standing from his spot and moving to shake Adrien’s hand.

“You as well, M. Wayne. And please, call me Adrien. Mr. Agreste is my father.” He says, and Marinette can just barely see his wince. His father always had been his least favorite subject, no matter how much or how little they spoke of him.

“Thanks for inviting us.” Marinette says, moving the package so that she’s no longer clutching it like a lifeline. Holding it out to Mr. Wayne, she laughs at his confused face. “It’s a present.” She adds.

“Oh, well, thank you.” He says, his face unreadable. Marinette shifts her weight, glancing between him and the package, waiting for him to open it. Or properly introduce her to the rest of the family. Either option would work at this point. Glancing at Dick, she sighs in relief when he claps. At least someone was going to make the first move.

“Right, so I don’t think you got the chance to meet Jason and Damian properly when you were here the other day.” Dick says, tugging her around a still frozen Bruce in front of the two boys from the other day.

“No, I didn’t. Hi, I’m Marinette.” She says, smiling and holding out a hand to Damian first. He tuts and turns away, making Marinette’s smile fall slightly before she turns to Jason. Jason grins and shakes her hand.

“Welcome to the family, kid.” He says, before whistling. “You didn’t get B’s height, that’s for sure.” He teases, Marinette snorts, her smile turning into a teasing smirk.

“Hey, don’t count me out for my height. Ever heard the phrase, small but mighty?” She asks, crossing her arms. Jason snorts, reaching out and messing up her hair.

“Whatever you say, Pixie Pop.” He replies. She rolls her eyes and turns to the other two siblings she hadn’t met.

“Hi, you must be Tim and Cass.” She says, smiling at both of them. Tim nods, his hand twitching towards his pocket. Marinette tries not to laugh, having seen Max do the same thing when he had to socialize for any amount of time. The boy was always far more comfortable with his phone in his hand, even if he wasn’t actually looking at it. Cass smiles, and Marinette notices her hands moving. “Sorry, could you repeat that, I wasn’t watching closely.” She says. Cass’ smile widens and she nods before starting over.

“Welcome to family. Nice to meet you.” Cass signs, making Marinette beam.

“It’s nice to meet you too.” She says, eyes widening when she realizes she left Adrien alone with a frozen Mr. Wayne. Whirling around, she moved back to Adrien and tugged him forward, rolling her eyes at his surprised yelp. Honestly, he should expect this by now.

“Geeze, Princess. Give a man a warning.” He says, adjusting his shirt that she’d accidentally messed up.

“Sorry k- Adrien. Sorry. Anyway, uh, everyone this is my friend Adrien Agreste. Adrien this is Jason, Damian, Tim, Cass and you already know Dick.” Marinette introduces, gesturing to each of her new siblings. Adrien shoots a wide smile, not quite his model smile but also not quite a real one.

“Nice to meet you all.” He says.

“Marinette, I apologize. Did you want me to open this now?” Mr. Wayne asks suddenly. She turns and raises an eyebrow at his unreadable expression and the way he holds onto the present like he doesn’t know what to expect. Which is fair, considering they’d only met in person the day before.

“Oh, um, if you want to. It’s nothing big.” She says, watching nervously as he nods and unwraps it. His eyebrows twitch together as he looks at the book, obviously not yet understanding.

“Open it, B.” Dick whispers, clearly understanding the gift more than their father. Mr. Wayne nods and opens it, his unreadable expression falling into one that she...still can’t read. But it’s not emotionless anymore. As he flips through the book, a small smile creeps its way onto his face and Marinette almost cheers. That’s the most sincere look she’d ever seen on the man.

“Did you put all this together?” He asks, glancing up from the book to look at her. Marinette nods.

“When I found out I was adopted, I wanted to have something to give my bio dad. So that even if he didn’t want to see me in person, he could get to know me. When I found out you’re my, um, dad, I added some personal touches.” She says.

“And I can keep this?” He asks, and Marinette’s shocked that he sounds almost scared. As if he thinks she’ll say no and take everything back. She smiles.

“Of course. My Maman and Papa already have those pictures. These are all yours.” She says.

“Thank you, Marinette. I- This is an amazing gift.” He says. Marinette’s smile widens and her shoulders sag in relief. Maybe tonight wouldn’t be a disaster after all.

Next

Tag list: @maribat-bdbwm @vixen-uchiha @stainedglassm @liquid-luck-00 @jayjayspixiepop @jjmjjktth @mizzy-pop @trippingovermyfeet @queenz-z @thepaceperson @iloontjeboontje @waiting247 @laurcad123 @toodaloo-kangaroo @ritacrow-blog @deathssilentapproach-blog @kittenmywaythrulife @imarivers8 @when-no-wings-do-broomsticks

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[sturchling]

I've read your stories where the Justice League is banned from Paris, and I love them! What if the League and the Avengers were in the same world, but the Avengers didn't ignore them while the Justice League did? I imagine that Steve would convince Tony to help because these are KIDS, like Peter. So, the Avengers help, but since the League and Avengers are at odds, the Avengers don't tell the League. Team Miraculous is perfectly fine with that. (Big Team Miraculous and more users if possible!!)

Team Miraculous had practically begged the Justice League for help when Hawkmoth was still active. But they received no response. But the Justice League weren’t the only ones they reached out to. They also sent the same video asking for help to Tony Stark, who everyone knew was Iron Man, hoping the Avengers might help them. They sent the video with little hope for a response. After all, the Justice League had ignored all their requests for help. Why would the Avengers be any different?

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

Tony Stark received hundreds of emails a day. Emails from people at Stark Industries, SHIELD, and the avengers. But he didn’t often get emails from an unknown address from Paris. That is what initially caught his attention. The message was simple. The subject simply said Avengers, please help us. When Tony opened the email, there was no text to it. Just a video attachment. Tony called the team into the meeting room and played the video. 

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

They watched the video as two kids in animal themed costumes explained what was happening in Paris. These kids couldn’t be more than 14. When the video was over, the group sat in silence for a moment before Steve spoke up. “We need to help them.” Tony sighed, turning to face Steve. “It’s not that I don’t want to, but we can’t just go to Paris and help. Not when they are still discussing the accords. We can’t go unless France’s government asks for our help.” Steve stands up from his seat, angry. “So what? We just ignore this? You heard what they said, France wants to keep this under wraps so they don’t lose the tourists that come to Paris. They aren’t going to ask for our help, then they would have to publicly admit there is a problem!” Tony stands up too, walking towards Steve. “I know that! But our hands are tied. With the UN still discussing the accords, we can’t go making the situation worse then it already is!” Steve rolls his eyes and starts to walk away in frustration. “Oh come on Tony! Those are kids! Those are KIDS who are having to fight against a terrorist all on their own with no training! They need help! If it were Peter in Paris, would you leave him to face this alone?” That made Tony pause. In the quiet, Thor decided to make his opinion known. “I also feel that we should help them. I am familiar with these miraculous. The power they grant users is great. A terrorist powered by one is a sobering thought. I am especially familiar with the Black Cat miraculous, as is Loki. And I do not believe either of us wants to be on Plagg’s bad side again. We should help these children immediately.” Tony just sighs, shaking his head. “I feel like I am going to regret this. Fine, lets go to Paris.”  The Avengers quickly made preparations to go to Paris. Before they left they sent an email back to the kids who sent the video to let them know that help was on the way.

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

Marinette and Adrien could hardly believe the email in their inbox. They hadn’t expected to hear back from the Avengers so soon, or hear that they were taking this seriously. This is incredible! By now, team Miraculous had revealed their identities to each other to make it easier to communicate to each other. Marinette sent out a message in their group chat. Group project meeting. Meet in the usual place, 30 minutes. Half an hour later, team Miraculous was meeting in their secluded area of Chloe’s hotel suite, which had been sound proofed so no one would hear them. Marinette and Adrien filled them all in on what had happened involving the Avengers and everyone was excited. They would finally get some help with Hawkmoth after all these years. It wasn’t long before they received another email saying that the Avengers had landed and asking where to meet. Marinette sent them the location of a secluded warehouse to meet in and Team Miraculous transformed, leaving to meet the Avengers.

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

The Avengers weren’t sure what to expect when they arrived at the abandoned warehouse the kids asked them to meet at. But they certainly weren’t expecting a small army of kids in costume, in addition to the two that sent the video. In addition to the original two dressed as a ladybug and cat, there appeared to be a fox, turtle, bee, horse, snake, monkey, dragon, and bunny. And they were all children. The girl in the ladybug outfit and boy in the cat outfit stepped forward. “I am Ladybug and this is Chat Noir. We lead the miraculous team. Thank you for your help.” Steve stepped forward, being the first to recover from the shock of seeing this army of children. “We are glad to help. We have the basic idea of what is happening from your video, but could you explain in some more detail what the situation is?” Ladybug spent the next few hours going over everything with the Avengers, giving a more detailed picture of the ongoing battle with Hawkmoth and Mayura for the last few years. 

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

At the end of the explanation, the Avengers are horrified. The situation is worse than they thought. And the Justice League had been ignoring these kids? That just made it worse. Tony, his head still reeling from all the information, said “I am glad we got your message when we did, seems things are pretty bad here. We can help you track down this Hawkmoth and end this. But we need to keep our involvement in this quiet. With the UN still discussing the accords, we aren’t technically supposed to be here.” Ladybug looks visibly confused, asking, “Accords? What are the accords?” The Avengers fill them in on the accords and what all it means for them. 

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

Ladybug was shocked that they would even consider agreeing to this. “You all agreed to this? To be monitored by the UN and restricted in what you can do. And anyone that they view as a threat could be imprisoned just because of that, regardless of if they had done anything wrong. That is insane! The Avengers I know wouldn’t agree to that. I remember watching you Agent Romanoff, testify before congress and challenge them to put you in prison. The world needs the Avengers and other heroes to be able to act in a crisis without worrying about if a panel will let them.” Tony tried to argue his point, and Marinette continued to say it was wrong. The two argued for a while, which was concerning for both team Miraculous and the Avengers to watch. But by the end of it, Marinette being Marinette, had managed to convince Tony that he was wrong and that they wouldn’t agree to the accords. The Avengers were a little shocked that this young girl had changed Tony’s mind, but you wouldn’t hear them complaining. With all the discussions out of the way, they got to work.

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

Tony got Jarvis to start running analyses to see who in Paris was likely to be Hawkmoth. It had to be someone with a lot of time on their hands, a large amount of resources, and had to have a supply of these butterflies he was using. He also compared these results with the typical behavioral profile of a terrorist like this. Then the Avengers went over the list with Team Miraculous and started eliminating suspects. Anyone that didn’t already have an alibi was tailed by either Hawkeye or Black Widow until they were cleared. Meanwhile, the rest of the Avengers helped train the kids in combat and how to work as a team in the field so that they were better able to face akumas. It took weeks, but soon, they were down to only one subject. Gabriel Agreste. Adrien didn’t want to believe it, but as the weeks went by and neither Hawkeye or Black Widow were able to clear him, it became clear to Adrien that his father was likely Hawkmoth.

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

 By now, the Avengers knew of the kids identities. All the Avengers felt bad for Adrien, and also didn’t want him to stay in that house a minute longer. Besides how his father treated him, having another miraculous user in that house, especially the Black Cat that Hawkmoth craved was a recipe for disaster. So Tony had his lawyers help Adrien file for emancipation. That made Gabriel frantic. He didn’t want to lose his control over Adrien. He was so close to getting the miraculous and his wish. He could have his family back again. But that can’t happen if Adrien is emancipated and leaves. Gabriel became more desperate with his akumas and became sloppy. That was his downfall.

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

By the end of the week, the Avengers and team Miraculous were facing down Hawkmoth. By this point, Hawkmoth was so frantic, that they fight was easily won. When he revealed why he did all this and what happened to Emilie, Master Fu, who had come to collect the missing miraculous, was able to reverse the damage done by the peacock miraculous on both Emilie and Nathalie. Gabriel was arrested, as was Nathalie, and Adrien was ecstatic to be with his mother again. 

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

Once Hawkmoth was defeated, news of what had been happening in Paris spread like wildfire. It wasn’t long before the Justice League swooped in to do damage control. They landed in the middle of the city, already starting their spiel about how they were here to help with any damage and chaos from the final battle. But they were shocked to see the city in perfect condition, and the police surrounding them, telling them to leave. Over the heads of the police, they see the members of the Avengers standing with some kids in animal costumes. Two of the kids are familiar, from the videos asking for help all those years ago. Batman fumed at seeing the other group of heroes allowed to be in the city while they were being forced out. “Why are we not allowed here, but they are!? They aren’t local heroes.” The girl in a Ladybug themed costume stepped forward through the crowd, “They get to be here because they actually answered our call for help and were instrumental in the defeat of Hawkmoth. They arrived before the ban, followed my team’s lead, and respected the wishes of my team as well as the city. They proved to be good allies. You and your group on the other hand, ignored and denied our requests and now want to come in and do damage control. Now you leave, or we will make you.” While some of the members of the Justice League have the good sense to look embarrassed and back down, Batman got right in Ladybug’s face. “And how are you going to make us little girl?” Ladybug turned around and walked back to her team, not sparing Batman another glance. Batman looked smug, thinking he had made her back down. But when she got back to her team, she turned to the horse themed hero. “Pegasus.” Without another word, the horse sprang into action. All the Justice League heard was him call out “Voyage” before they were back in the watchtower, wondering what had just happened.

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

Finally, it was time for the UN meeting on the accords. When asked if they would sign, the Avengers officially declined to sign the accords so they could actually help in Paris. Team Miraculous watched the live coverage as all of the Avengers said they wouldn’t sign the accords. The head of the UN panel stood up, angry at their defiance. “Maybe we should just go ahead and toss you all in a cell. Clearly you are a threat to the world. While we were discussing these very accords, you went into France without permission and acted as the Avengers. You cause untold damage in each fight, do nothing to fix the damage, and won’t allow for a little over sight to make sure you don’t destroy everything.  Seems pretty dangerous to me.” There were mummers of agreement through out the room. Tony was the last one to speak. “You won’t put us in a prison cell. Here’s why. As Agent Romanoff once said, you all need us. Yes, we have made the world a more vulnerable place. But, we are the ones most qualified and able to defend it. So, if you want to arrest us, do it. You know where to find us. But then you will be even more vulnerable to even bigger threats than us.” Angry voices sounded from around the room, but the Avengers just turned and left. Most other heroes followed suit, officially stating that they would not be signing the accords. Eventually, the UN realized that if they arrested every hero that didn’t sign the accords, they would have no one left to defend the Earth and they dropped the issue. 

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

Things quickly returned to normal, for both team Miraculous and the Avengers. Team Miraculous was happy to have defeated Hawkmoth and not have to constantly guard their emotions. The emotional toll on the citizens of Paris was huge, but the Avengers weren’t done helping. Tony Stark brought in several therapists and took care of all the bills, so all of Paris could have access to mental help as needed, after enduring the trauma of living under Hawkmoth’s threats for years. And the Avengers kept on being heroes and helping everyone they could all over the world. And team Miraculous would often give them a hand with missions as needed. The Avengers and team Miraculous remained close allies after everything and were happy to have helped each other.

#ml #ml fic #ml fanfic #ml salt #ml salt fic #ml salt fanfic #hawkmoth defeated #justice league salt #avengers #the avengers #dc x miraculous #marvel x miraculous #miraculous #miraculous ladybug #miraculous fic #miraculous fanfic #miraculous salt #miraculous salt fic #miraculous salt fanfic #miraculous tales of ladybug and chat noir #miraculous ladybug x dc #miraculous ladybug x marvel #ml x dc #ml x marvel

[jinx-jade]

The feeling of home Part 3: Video calls

“Hey Cass, have you seen… “ Dick froze, stopping mid-sentence at the sight in front of him.

“Oh My God! Hi! You must be Cass’s girlfriend!” Dick exclaims in excitement, causing the girl on the other end of the video call to giggle.

“Hello, I’m Cass’s girlfriend,” she began. “Sorry but I don’t have any more time to chat today. Maybe we can do a group video call later?”

“I’m sure all of us would love that!” Dick claimed with a grin.

“Je t'enverrai un texto plus tard mon amour” (I'll text you later my love), Cass’s girlfriend informs her lover with a smile.

Cass gave a bright smile and wave in return, a slight blush noticeable on her cheeks.

The second the call disconnected Dick let out a squeal.

“You two are so cute!” A grin clear on his features.

‘What did you need’ Cass asked in sign language, her blush still visible.

“Oh ya. Have you seen my Escrima Sticks? We have to patrol a bit and I can’t seem to find them. Any of them actually, including my spares.” Dick informs her as they start walking towards the cave.

‘Tim hid them as revenge for replacing his coffee with decaf’ Cass signs to him.

“Ugh. Of course, he did!” Dick groans in exasperation. “Thanks for the help, Cass! Can’t wait till we can officially meet your girlfriend!”

________________________

“Hey Alfred, can we have some popcorn? Something tells me this is gonna be fairly entertaining.” Jason claims as he sits down on the couch. He would go make the popcorn himself, but he was still banned from the kitchen.

“Of course Master Jason. Would anyone else like some refreshments or snacks before the call starts?” Alfred questioned.

The Waynes proceed to tell Alfred what food and drinks they wanted. Those who weren’t banned from the kitchen followed Alfred to help. There were very few Waynes still allowed in the kitchen, only Cass and Damian haven’t been banned, yet.

Once Cass, Damian, and Alfred had been in the kitchen for a bit, preparing the snack, Alfred turned his attention to Cass.

“There’s no reason to be so nervous, Miss Cassandra. I’m sure everyone will like your girlfriend.” Alfred spoke before focusing on preparing the popcorn.

Cass let out a slight whine. It was a mix between frustration, nervousness, and excitement.

“Tch. If this person was able to catch your attention and make you a smiling mess like Grayson with Kori, then I’m positive the rest of us will like her.” Damian states before walking out of the kitchen with a tray of snacks. Cass followed him out of the kitchen with her tray of snacks, Alfred not too far behind.

“Everyone ready?” Dick asked when everyone was settled into their usual spots.

Everyone gave some form of ‘yes we are ready’ Cass started the call.

…Calling...

A click was heard as the call screen was replaced with a person.

“Hello! It’s lovely to meet you all. I’m Marinette, Cass’s girlfriend.” Marinette informs them with a sweet smile.

“It’s nice to meet you as well Marinette. I’m Bruce Wayne, Cassandra’s adoptive father. This is my eldest Richerd, although he prefers to be called Dick. This is my third eldest Jason, my second youngest Tim, and my youngest Damian.” Bruce introduces.

When they were still planning the call on a day all of them would be free, Cass asked Bruce to introduce them to her girlfriend for her. All of the Waynes agreed to let themselves be introduced by Bruce since it made sense due to him being their father.

Marinette seemed to scan the room before nodding to herself. The acton seemed to make Cass let out a held-back laugh, confusing the Waynes.

Tim looked back and forth between the couple.

“What’s so funny?” He asked after not being able to figure it out.

“Hmm? Oh. Sorry, I’m used to Cass’s way of communicating. Pretty much, I just lined up who was who based on Cass’s description of you.” Marinette explains to Tim.

“Gasp. You talk about us!” Jason exclaims turning towards Cass.

Cass just gave him an eye roll for his antics.

“All good things, I hope,” Bruce says with a chuckle.

Marinette raised a brow in Cass’s direction, causing Cass to react by folding both of her lips inward and making a zip motion. Marinette had a smirk growing on her face while Cass had a glare that was slowly becoming more intense.

“Of course, all good stories.” Marinette states with a grin as Cass facepalmed.

“Stories? What kind of stories?” Bruce asked, looking in his daughter’s direction.

“Very entertaining stories if you must know, but shouldn’t you already know what the stories are about since you’re the ones who lived them?” Marinette asks, a grin still settled on her features.

“Renard faisant le chaos” (Fox making chaos), Cass huffs under her breath, causing Marinette to laugh.

“Nous faisons tous les deux le chaos. Non?” (We both make chaos. No?), Marinette states with a sharp smile that promised chaos, but with soft loving eyes.

Cass simply huffed and turned her head away. After a few seconds of silence, the couple started laughing, Cass not bothering to hold it back this time.

The Waynes didn’t seem to understand what just happened, even the ones who spoke French were confused. However, they didn’t mind the confusion, it was very rare for them to see Cass this happy. The Waynes all came to a silent agreement that they all liked Cass’s girlfriend and would be doing these family video calls more often.

The call continued late into the night, a few of the Waynes excusing themselves to ‘head to bed’.

After all, not all the bats could have the night off at the same time.

Tonight’s patrol consisted of Batman, Robin, and Red Hood since they had the easiest excuses to leave and go to bed.

Bruce had a meeting in the morning, Damian had school tomorrow, and Jason had a meeting with the W.E. security department. All of this was true, and technically Tim could have used the meeting excuse, but everyone knows Tim would never willingly go to sleep.

When Bruce, Jason, and Damian came back from patrol they were surprised with the rest of their family still being on the call.

Alfred made eye contact with them and shooed them off to bed.

“My Apologies, but I do believe we are now in the early morning hours. I believe everyone should at the very least, try and get some rest.” Alfred suggested.

Goodbyes and Goodnights were exchanged before the call ended.

While the Waynes moved towards their bedrooms, Alfred had a small smile playing on his lips.

‘The little guardian will surely be a good influence on them.’ Alfred thought before heading to bed himself.

#maribat #maribat march 2021 #marinette dupain cheng #the feeling of home

[miraculous-trinity-leo]

Tᕼᗴ ᑕᕼᗩOTIᑕ ᗩᑎᘜᗴᒪ

(Part 1) (Part 2) (Part 3) (Part 4) (Part 5) (Part 6)

Chapter 5: Don't Jinx It!

·•·—–·•†•·–—·•·

Chloé Bourgeois... A girl that can be described in many words

"She's absolutely ridiculous! I can't believe you have to do an art project with her of all people!" - Alix sprawled out on Marinette's balcony

"She can't be that bad, besides we might become friends." - Marinette sketching some designs

"Believe me, even I think she's a bit much... She's snobby, annoying, rude, immature, spoiled, she basically has the “I'm better than thow” attitude to a T."- Kagami sitting next to the flowerbed while reading a literature book

"See? Even Kagami agrees... Just don't talk to her, actually don't even move if you're in her sights. She's like a T-Rex, she can't see you if you don't move." - Alix

… … … … …

"Hello, I'm Marinette, it's nice to meet you." - Marinette reached out her hand as she smiled

*Que Alix facepalming herself while Kagami lets out a sigh*

"Whatever, I'm Chloé, but I'm sure you already knew that." - Chloé

They started their project and most interactions went the same way, Chloé would sit in a chair near the window and paint her nails while Marinette did all the work. The next day Marinette and Chloé were the only ones in the art room.

"Okay, let's get started." - Marinette skipping her way over to the art supplies

"You do that, I'll just sit over here." - Chloé walking to her chair

"... Say, is it fun painting your nails?" - Marinette looking over to Chloé

"Of course, what girl doesn't like nail art?" - Chloé

"Well, painting on a canvas is kind of like nail art, here try painting something." - Marinette handing Chloé a paint brush

"Please, I don't do art." - Chloé refusing the paint brush

"But you ‘Paint’ your nails." - Marinette

"It's different!" - Chloé

"Okay, how about this, if I can do a magic trick for you, will you try painting just a little bit?" - Marinette

"...Fine, impress me." - Chloé giving Marinette her full attention

Marinette pulled a seed she got earlier that day out of her pocket and showed it to Chloé

"A seed?" - Chloé giving an unimpressed look

"I'll turn it into a flower, as you can see I only have this seed, and there's nothing up my sleeves. When I turn back around this seed will be a flower, are you ready?" - Marinette still holding the seed for Chloé to see

"Just do it already." - Chloé

So, Marinette turned around putting her free hand over the seed, and imagined it growing. When Marinette turned back around, all Chloé saw was a fully bloomed Common Rockrose flower, leaving her stunned.

"How did you do that?!" - Chloé walking up to Marinette to get a better look at the flower

"Family secret." - Marinette with a small smirk - "So, you want to try painting now?"

"... Fine." - Chloé pouted her lips and sat down at an empty canvas while Marinette walked to the table beside it, and Marinette may or may not have seen a small smile on Chloé's face while she grabbed some more paint.

After about 30 minutes Alix and Kagami came in and found Chloé and Marinette flinging water paint at the canvas

"Ha!" - Marinette whiped her arm out, watching as the wet paint from the brush splattered onto the canvas

"Ha HA!" - Chloé doing the exact same motion, but with a little more flare

Kagami and Alix just stared in amazed silence... they had created a master piece... It was a magnificent painting showing a meadow with many flowers in an almost hazy dream kind of look,  it had a blue sky and a faint rainbow in the background behind some clouds on the horizon

"It's *sniff* Ridiculously beautiful..." - Chloé

"And you thought painting was boring." - Marinette teasing Chloé

"... Isley-Quinzel, look me in the face and say that again." - Chloé

"And you- ("Boop" - Chloé) -Hey!" - Marinette got booped on her nose by Chloé's paint covered finger

"I admit it was fun... to some extent. Now lets act like this never happened." - Chloé getting ready to leave

"How the hell did you get Chloé to paint?!" - Alix snapping out of her surprise, which caused Chloé to get startled and trip, knocking the paint onto Marinette and herself in the process

"Well... that was a colorful entrance." - Marinette now covered in blue, pink, green and red paint

"Utterly Ridiculous!" - Chloé now covered in yellow, dark green, and blue paint

"Ooops?" - Alix shrugging her shoulders

*facepalms* - Kagami

… … …

Marinette and Chloé had to walk around school covered in paint, definitely getting a few awkward stares from the other kids. About an hour later, each pair of students presented their shared work of art. When Marinette and Chloé went up, both holding their masterpiece while still covered in paint, stunned the other students.(Not because Chloé was 1. covered in paint, 2. actually carrying the painting, and 3. had a smile on her face) Needless to say they got an A+, and for the rest of the day Marinette, Chloé, Alix and Kagami hung out laughing and having fun. Not long after that the other kids started making bets on who Marinette would befriend next, and how long it would take for that someone to be an instant friend.

Chloé ended up spending a lot more time with the GPS and eventually...

The girls sat around in a circle within Marinette's room with all the lights off, only having a single lamp in the center of the room to add an ominous glow

"Are you ready to take the oath?" - Alix

"Yes, but why do we have to make it look like some utterly ridiculous ritual summoning?" - Chloe

"I agree with Chloé, I'm not allowed to summon the unnatural or paranormal." - Kagami

"Well, let's forget the paranormal stuff for now, ehem. Chloé Bourgeois, do you promise to always have our backs..." - Marinette

"Through the good and the bad..." - Alix

"To say the truth and nothing but the truth." - Kagami

"Wrong oath Kagami." - Marinette whispering to Kagami

"...... To always stay on the path that is straight and true..." - Kagami

"To uphold the justice in this crazy world..." - Alix

"And to guide those who have abandoned the light... Are you ready to join the GPS?" - Marinette

"Yes." - Chloé

"Girls, time to eat- ... Marinette, please tell me you aren't summoning the unnatural like Harley did that one time." - Selina just opening the door and seeing basically a ritual gathering

"In mom's defense, she was trying to get rid of the spooky spirit." - Marinette

"That was from a story Ed made up that one time, you wouldn't stop seeing the shadows ‘moving’, and then Harley thought she saw them move, and she ended up doing a ritual to get rid of it, but we ended up with the cursed toaster ghost. And now all bread we toast is burnt back home." - Selina

"... But burnt toast is the best!" - Marinette

"Ivy told you that it would make you grow quicker, which then tricked you into liking burnt toast, which isn't tasty at all." - Selina

"*dramatic gasp* You Take That Back!" - Marinette

"Nope, now come down in 3 so we can eat." - Selina closed the door and walked away

"You girls agree with me right?" - Marinette turning to her friends

"... Marinette, how can you think burnt toast is good?!" - Alix

"It's... burnt." - Kagami

"Ehhh, it's okay." - Chloé

"Thank You!" - Marinette hugging Chloé

"... un-second thought, I retract my ‘yes’ to that oath." - Chloé

"Too late." - Kagami

"You're stuck with us..." - Alix then leaned over and whispered in Chloé's ear - "Foreverrrrr."

……… ……… ………

After they had their food they went back up to Marinette's (ritual free) room and started playing Ultimate Mecha Strike 2.

After a few rounds of Marinette dominating Ultimate Mecha Slaughter Strike 2, they moved on to watching some Jurassic Park

"So... your mom cursed your toaster?" - Chloé

"... maybe." - Marinette

"Honestly though, who in their right mind likes burnt toast?" - Alix

"Apparently Marinette." - Kagami

"It's kinda like thin burnt rice crispy treats, just minus the sugar." - Marinette

"*dramatic gasp* You Take That Back Right Now." - Alix

"You don't even know what rice crispy treats are, do you." - Marinette now looking away from the TV and directly at Alix

"Not a clue." - Alix

"It's an American treat, it's actually really good, not to sweet, and not to crunchy." - Chloé

"This is why you are part of the GPS." - Marinette hugging Chloé - "You understand most red blooded American treats, and for that I give you my thanks." - Marinette now starting to tear up

"What are we, chop liver?" - Kagami pointing to Alix and herself

"Well unlike you two, I have seen the other side... I swear, they're all hillbillies, and they live in the worst weather ever! Sunshine state my ass, more like out door saunas 24/7." - Chloé ended up mumbling her last few words

"... That's Florida, and it's not that bad, it never gets hotter than 115°F, and that's during summer." - Marinette

"... No wonder you like burnt toast... your brains were burnt with it." - Alix

"I didn't live in Florida, I lived in New Jersey, and the weather is better there." - Marinette

"That's what she said." - Kagami stuffing her face with popcorn

……… ……… ………

Over the course of the next few months Marinette taught the GPS all she knew about parkour and self-defense, at first they wondered why she knew so many different techniques of self-defense, until she explained where she grew up had a few unpleasant people. They still think she's meta.

When Winter rolled around she was to head back to Gotham for the next month and a half. She was packed and ready when the GPS burst into her room.

"Don't leave! I need an Ice skating buddie!" - Alix clinging to Marinette

"You have Chloé and Kagami, besides, I'm pretty sure Kagami is better on the ice than I am." - Marinette accepting the fact she won't be getting Alix off her anytime soon

"It's Not The Same!" - Alix becoming a human koala on Marinette's back

"She's going to see her family, show some restraint!" - Chloé detaching Alix from Marinette

"No!" - Alix getting out of Chloé's grip and reattaching herself to Marinette

"There's a new attraction with a big ramp jump for the ice skating rink." - Kagami on her phone

"Really?! Let me see!" - Alix detaching herself to look at Kagami's phone, only to see the normal boring ice skating rink - "You tricked me." - Alix gave Kagami the stink eye

"It got you off of Marinette at least." - Kagami putting her phone away

"I'm gonna miss you girls." - Marinette gave them a big hug

"You better not do anything stupid while you're back home." - Chloé

"I would never." - Marinette thinking of the time she ran from the Bat-Birds

"What city in New Jersey do you live in again?" - Alix

"That's-" - Marinette

"Kitten you all set for Gotham?" - Selina opened the door and saw Marinette in a big hug with the girls - "Oh, you girls are here, hope you said your goodbyes because we're leaving in 10 minutes." - She then closed the door to make sure everything was ready downstairs

"... ... ..." - Chloé/Alix/Kagami - "You live where?"

"Gotham...?" - Marinette slowly backing up to grab her luggage and make her way to the door

"Oh hell No!" - Kagami standing between Marinette and the door

"You're staying!" - Alix clinging to Marinette again

"Gotham's a death trap!!!" - Chloé joining Alix and clinging to Marinette

... ... ...

After some convincing the girls let Marinette go, and she was now on the plane that would take her back home.

"... They really think Gotham's a death trap?" - Selina relaxing in the first class seats she got them.

"It's not that bad is it? I had asked them what they thought could even go wrong." - Marinette

"... Well literally everything can go wrong in Gotham... It's not to late to get off actually." - Selina getting up

"Not you too!" - Marinette grabbing her Aunt's hand

"I'm joking Kitten... you are wearing the bullet proof vest under that coat right?" - Selina

"Of course." - Marinette

"Then we should be fine..." - Selina now sitting back down and looking 10 times more nervous than before

"..." - Marinette put her hands together and mumbled under her breath - "Please don't jinx it. Please don't jinx it. Please don't jinx it. Pleeeeease don't jinx it."

……………… They had an hour delay, had to switch flights and couldn't eat anything because it looked like it would give them food poisoning, and they didn't get a wink of sleep......... but they made it to Gotham in one piece... at 2 in the morning.

"You jinxed it." - Marinette dragging her luggage sleepily

"It can't get any worse now-" - Selina

"No!-" - As Marinette tried to stop her Aunt from finishing her sentence, a truck past by the curb and sent a blanket of powdered snow flying into them - "-say it..."

"...Okay, now it-" - Selina was cut off by Marinette stuffing her mouth with the last secret cookie she had

"Don't anger the jinx gods, please." - Marinette pleading to her Aunt

After Selina finished the secret cookie she called Ivy to pick them up. They waited about 15 minutes before Ivy, along with a sleeping Harley in the back seat, picked them up. As they got in the car Harley jolted awake

"Are we dere yet?" - Harley rubbing her eyes

"Yes, and in our snow covered glory we entered the car." - Marinette giving her mom a hug

"I missed yuh so much, it just hasn't been de same wit'outcha cupcake." - Harley returning the hug

"And what about me, did you miss me?" - Selina getting comfortable in the passenger seat

"Ehhh." - Harley tilted here hand from side to side as she continued to side hug Marinette

"... Have I ever told you how great you are at warm welcomes?" - Selina giving Harley the stink eye

"She didn't mean it, you know she has no filter at this hour." - Ivy pulling up to the stoplight

"In other words her honest opinion of me being back is ‘ehhh’, I'm glad she thinks so highly of me." - Selina resting her head on the window

The ride to their base was peaceful, they arrived and went to their rooms after Marinette gave her moms and aunt a goodnight hug. As Marinette went to sleep in her bed, Bud and Lou jumped onto the bed and curled up next to her, as she stroked their fur, she couldn't help but feel excited to spend time with her family and friends. She soon fell asleep in the calm silence of her room, the last thought she had before drifting off, was that she was happy to be back home.

·•·—–·•★•·–—·•·

Chapter 5 complete, hope you're all having a magnificent day, rockin' all the positive vibes and staying safe !BUG-OUT! 🐞💮🐞

〜(꒪꒳꒪)〜Tag List〜(꒪꒳꒪)〜

1st Place★: @jumpingjoy82

2nd Place★: @myazael

3rd Place★: @solangelo252

@fandom-trapped-03, @zorua-adorable, @blueblossombliss, @thefangirlwholiterallydies, @woe-is-me0, @lady-bee-fechin, @jayjayspixiepop, @kashlyn, @toodaloo-kangaroo, @buginetye, @our-preciousss, @vroomtaka, @alessialeone6997, @doll246 , @aestheticnpoetic, @moon5608, @moonlightstar64, @kking13

#maribat #maribat fic #garmari #harlivy #aunt selina #miraculous ladybug #alix kubdel #kagami tsuguri #shenanigans #slight cursing #fluff fic #badass marinette #miraculous crossover #mlb crossover #mlb x dc #mlb fic #chloé bourgeois #harley quinn bio mom #Poison Ivy bio mom #Marinette Isley-Quinzel #the chaotic angel #digital art #foryou #have a good day

[mochegato]

Capturing a Dream

Chapter 1 - Meeting the Team

This was it.  She was excited.  No excited wasn’t the word.  Terrified? Yeah, that was closer.  Marinette was about to step into the Young Justice base for the first time and meet her new teammates.  What if they don’t like her?  What if they don’t let her join the team?  What if they let her join the team but they exclude her?  What if they get mad at her because she won’t expose her identity and they think she doesn’t trust them?  What if she messes up and she ends up getting someone killed?  What if she gets one of her teammates killed? What if she gets someone else killed? What if… No!  

She wasn’t going to do that.  She wasn’t the same 14 year old girl who spiraled into anxiety-induced, worst-case-scenario, death spirals.  She was 17 now.  She was in her final year of school before college, nearly an adult, legally, she was an adult.  She was the Guardian.  She was a hero.  She was already in a prestigious internship with one of the biggest names in fashion.  She was working with the Justice League, well Young Justice, but that was better because there wasn’t as much of a time commitment, which was really good because she didn’t have much to spare… where was she going with this? Right!  She was smart.  She was competent.  She was confident(ish).  She was… standing outside the zeta tube opening staring at it like an idiot, and she was going to be late.  

She took a deep breath and ran her free hand over the costume she wasn’t quite used to yet, trying to find comfort in the feeling and focus her mind.  She could do this.  She may no longer be able to be Ladybug for secrecy reasons, but Ladybug wasn’t her only option.  She was Chimera now and Chimera was not linked back to the miraculous.  So this new and completely un-miraculous affiliated hero definitely wasn’t unifying the fox and horse miraculous.  Chimera was a separate and unmiraculous hero.  She was a new heroic entity; a powerful amalgamation of divergent parts; an illusion, who uses illusions; a dream that can never be captured.   Chimera was just another magical hero working in the background.

Gone was the flashy, bright suit of a central hero.  She was a shadow now and her suit reflected her new role.  The base of the suit was a brown so dark, it almost looked black.  Her knee-high boots and gloves that reached to midway up her bicep were both black, meeting with the brown core of the suit with a strip of deep orange.  Her mask was the same dark brown color with deep orange at the corners.    She no longer had her yoyo, but in its place was a rope that responded to her like her yoyo did.  Her flute across her back completed her weaponry.

She was still a hero, just not a miraculous one, as far as anyone else knew. She was still protecting people for now, she just wasn’t on the front lines anymore.  She was still protecting the miraculous and would for the rest of her life.  And she was still… standing outside the Zeta tube opening, staring.

She closed her eyes, and walked through the portal.  Before she let out her breath, she could feel a difference in the air around her.  She heard a digital voice say “Recognize Chimera B12.”  She opened one eye tentatively and jumped back with a quiet squeak when she saw Batman standing on the other side giving her an amused smile next to Black Canary and a red figure.  

Black Canary stepped forward, “Welcome to Mount Justice, Chimera.  You’ve already met Batman.  This is Red Tornado.  He supervises the cave here.” Chimera nodded to him but before she could say anything Black Canary continued speaking.  “We are very excited to have you here.  While you are training and on missions, this will be your home.  I know you have an apartment near your internship, but if you ever want to get away, you are always welcome to stay here whenever and however long you want to.” Her voice was warm and welcoming.  She leaned over and lowered her voice, “lead lined walls and no bugs or cameras allowed in the personal rooms in case you want to drop your transformation while you are here.”  She gave her a nod and started walking, motioning to Chimera to follow her.

“As discussed before, your team knows nothing about you.  What you choose to disclose is your decision.  Only Batman and I know anything more.  The team is used to people hiding their identities so there is no pressure to give your personal identity.  I mean, there might be teasing, but you are under absolutely no obligation to divulge and they will respect that.  Especially since Robin is under the same requirement.”  

They entered into a small sitting area that appeared to be their common room. The first thing she noticed was a kitchen that was almost as nice as her parents’ kitchen in the bakery and significantly bigger.  She let out a quiet “Wow” without even noticing she had done it.  She would have to try that out as soon as she was able to get back to it.

“Pretty nice, huh?” She heard from behind her.  She whirled around and finally noticed the other half of the room were a few couches and chairs were clustered in front of a television.  More significantly, there was a red headed boy talking to her, standing in front of four other teens.  They were looking at her with uncertainty and a slight bit of curiosity except the red headed boy who looked excited to meet her, and the larger black haired boy who looked a bit hostile.

“Uh, yeah.  It’s… um, a really nice kitchen.  It looks… really professional.”  She stammered, trying to keep the nerves out of her voice.

The red head smiled brightly at her.  “Only the best for the Justice League.”

“Alright team, it’s nice to see your smiling faces.” Black Canary started with more than a hint of sarcasm.  “I would like to introduce you to your new team member.  This is Chimera.”  Chimera gave an awkward wave to the Young Justice members.  “She was recruited by the Justice League.  Her identity is secret and will stay that way, am I clear?” She stared at each of the team members one at a time.  “Good. She is here under an outside deal so she may not always be available for missions, but she will be here whenever she can be.”

The red head raised his hand. “Wally, you don’t have to raise your hand.” Batman said tiredly.

“What is the outside deal?  What does that even mean?”

“It means something else brought her to our vicinity and she is only available to us because of that.  The details of the deal are not important.  Only that she is a hero on your team and every bit as dedicated to the team as the rest of you.”

“How is she as dedicated if she can’t commit to being here?” Artemis snarked quietly to Superboy.

“We all have outside lives that demand our attention.  There are times I can’t go out with the Justice League.  One of the others cover for me.  Are you suggesting I am not committed to the Justice League?” Batman stared harshly at her.

“No, sir.” Artemis shrunk back.

“I’m sorry, I have school and… other obligations, but I promise I will give you as much time and attention as I can spare without going insane.  Learned that the hard way.” She looked down as she muttered the last part under her breath.  She quickly looked back up hoping nobody heard her.  Everyone seemed to have the same expressions on their faces except Superboy who was giving her a quizzical look.  “I am committed to the team.  I want to be here, I promise.  Um… here, I brought macarons!”  She said with forced cheeriness, attempting to placate their suspicions and hostility. She opened the lid to the box of macarons she had brought with her.

Chimera’s hair blew back as Wally rushed forward.  He had already grabbed three macarons before she even saw him move. “These are delicious!  Where did you get them?”

“Thank you.  I made them. I like to bake.”  She smiled broadly at him.

Wally stared at her with his jaw open, the macaron close to falling out of his mouth. “Marry me.” He said dreamily.

Chimera giggled at him.  “How about I use the only-the-best kitchen to make something else for you a bit later instead?”

Wally gave her a bright grin.  “That will work.”  He looked at the rest of the macarons longingly then back at his teammates.  “Uh…. These are absolutely terrible and you shouldn’t have to be subjected to them.  I’ll just finish these off so you don’t have to.”  He reached back toward the box but Chimera closed the lid and raised an amused brow at him.

“Move over,” Robin pushed Wally to the side.  “Thank you Chimera.  That was sweet of you.”  He took a bite and looked back up at her with a smile.  “Hey, Wally was right.  These are delicious.  Artemis, Kaldur, Superboy, get over here and try these.”

Kaldur and Artemis came over, Artemis shoving Wally again for no apparent reason. Superboy stayed where he had been and continued to eye her suspiciously.  Wally looked at them with a pout.  “Hey!  Leave some for me.”

“You’ve already had a bunch.  The rest of us get some too.” Artemis rolled her eyes.

“Hey, I have a fast metabolism.  I need to eat.” Wally whined.

“Thank you… I’m sorry, I didn’t get any of your names.” Chimera said apologetically.

“Tall, blonde, and hostile is Artemis.  Tall, blonde, and aloof is Kaldur.  Tall, dark, and broody back there is Superboy.  You already met Wally, aka Kid Flash.  And I’m Robin.”  Robin gave her a charming smile and shook her hand.

She gave them all a brilliant smile.  “It is nice to meet you all.  I’m really excited to work with you.”  Wally smiled broadly at her and gave a lovesick sigh.  Artemis groaned and turned away.

Kaldur moved forward and extended his hand to her, “Welcome to the team.”

She shook his hand and gave him a warm smile.  “Thank you.”

“Okay, now that everyone has introduced themselves, let’s get to the training area.  I’m interested to see how Chimera’s powers work with the rest of yours.”  Black Canary announced.

“The training area is just this way,” Robin said with a suave smile, sweeping his arm out toward the direction they were supposed to move.

“Thanks,” Chimera smiled anxiously at him.

Wally came up on the other side of her and bumped his shoulder gently into hers.  “Don’t worry, we’ll take it easy on you.” He said with a wink.

Chimera looked at him blank faced for a few seconds before throwing him a sassy grin.  “It’s not me I’m worried about, speedy.”

“Oh no, Speedy was someone else.” Artemis threw in, moving past the group.

“You’re kidding.” Chimera stared at her.

“Nope.” Artemis responded popping the p.  “A whole different hero.  Not even fast either.  Makes no sense.”

“Good to know.” Chimera nodded absentmindedly.

“Oh, she can never meet Speedy.” Wally looked at the other heroes with wide eyes.

“Is he that bad?” Chimera asked, concern seeping into her eyes.

Artemis turned back to her and grinned wickedly, “No, he’s afraid you’ll start dating him.”

“Ahh.  I don’t date teammates so, don’t worry.”  Chimera reassured Wally with a clap on his back.  Artemis barely contained the chuckles that were fighting to spill out.

Wally gave her a distressed look, “But, teammates are great.  They are supportive and understand you… They’re… They’re the ideal dating material.”

“You make some interesting points.” She nodded as though contemplating his words.  “Luckily, you have very pretty and interesting teammates, four at least from what I can see.  So you have a wealth of dating material at your disposal.”  Chimera gave him a wink and walked ahead of him.  Artemis cackled loudly and threw her arm over Chimera’s shoulders, walking along with her.  “I think I’m going to like having you here.”

Chimera smiled at her.  “Good.  I hope so.”

Black Canary gave them a serious look and stood in the middle of the sparring area as the team lined up around the edges.  “Let’s get started.  This is an exhibition sparring match.  We want to see what you can do and what your teammates can do and see how you can mesh.”

“You don’t know what she can do?” Kaldur asked.

“I know. It’s you I’m concerned about.  You’re going to be working with her and leading her. You need to know what she can do. So, Chimera?  Go full force.  We want to know what to plan for in the field.”  Black Canary commanded.

Chimera looked at her unsure.  “Full force?  Are you sure? I don’t want to… That can be really dangerous.”

Black Canary nodded in understanding.  “I get that, but I assure you it will be fine.  We just need to see where you are in your skills, so we need you to give it your all.”

Chimera eyes got even bigger, “I’m not going to kill someone to prove a point.  I can do a demonstration instead.”

The rest of the team looked at her insulted.  Robin finally spoke up to scoff at her.  “We can take it.  We’ve dealt with worse.  Don’t worry.”

Ladybug looked back at him with wide eyes.  “It isn’t… I don’t think I’m a better fighter than you.  I’m positive you all have better training than I do, especially since I don’t have any, it’s just… I’ve brought down the Eiffel Tower with one hit before.  Thank god for miraculous ladybugs.  But you all look a bit more…” she struggled for an appropriate word to finish her thought, “…vulnerable.  I really don’t want to hurt any of you.”  She shot him a pleading look.

Superboy stepped forward with a determined look on his face. “Then try me.  I’m less…” he paused as if thinking, “what was that word you used… Vulnerable.”

She looked at him uncertain then looked over to Black Canary, taking note of her stern expression.  She nodded and stepped onto the mat.  “I’ll make it work.” Chimera offered uncertainly.

They faced each other for a few moments before settling into a fighting stance.  When she was ready, Chimera nodded to Superboy.  He rushed at her and extended his arm at the last second to deliver a haymaker punch.  Chimera bent backwards and twirled in a semi-circle so she was standing behind him and kicked him in the butt, sending him sprawling on the floor.  He got up and glared at her.  He rushed her again, this time aiming for her waist so she couldn’t duck under him.  She stared at him coming at her like a deer in headlights.  Superboy got a smug glint in his eye as he closed in on her.  At the last second, Chimera jumped up and rolled down his back, landing on her feet behind him, the wide eyed expression long gone.

“We need you to try, Chimera.  We need you to actually fight, not just dodge.”  Batman stated sternly.

Chimera looked over to him to nod at the instruction. The momentary distraction was enough for Superboy to land a hard hit to her stomach.  The force of the impact sent her flying across the mat.  The team winced and groaned in sympathy as she hit a wall with a hard thump.  Superboy moved over to her to check on her but stopped half way to her.   Chimera stood up and cocked her head to the side, examining Superboy.  She raised her brow and asked calmly, “So… super strength.  Invulnerability?”

He nodded at her.  “Okay then.”  She smirked at him, walking back to the central area of the room.  “Let’s do this.”  He smiled slightly and nodded.  She immediately launched herself at him, catching him by surprise.  She punched him hard enough to send him across the room in the opposite direction.  He slid toward the wall but was able to regain enough control to use the wall as a springboard to launch himself back at her.  She saw him coming and twisted at the last second, using his momentum against him to push him off balance.  He recovered quicker than she expected and swept her legs out from under her. She used her momentum to turn the fall into a flip, leading to a series of flips and twists taking her away from him, giving her some space to think.

They circled around each other trying to plan their next move.  Suddenly Chimera stopped and looked like she just realized something.  “Oh I forgot.  I’m supposed to be showing my skills…” she started innocently.  Superboy took advantage of her apparent distraction to jump at her again but that was the moment she had been waiting for.  “Voyage” she whispered and created a portal behind her. She stepped out of the way at the last possible second, sending Superboy through the portal at full speed.  The portal ended close to the rock wall on the other side of the room.  Superboy almost slammed into the wall with his full force but she had left him enough room to bounce back off the wall and launch himself back through the portal and back in front of her, throwing a punch toward her sternum that she was just barely able to twist away from, rolling along his arm until she was in the perfect position to elbow him in the back of his head.  He grunted and turned back toward her, circling around her again.

“Full force, Chimera,” Black Canary chastised her.

“Not going to make him bleed on purpose for a game, Ms. Canary.” Chimera responded, still focused on Superboy.  “Besides, we’re not done yet.”  She turned to Superboy, “Right?”  He nodded at her, an amused glint in his eyes.  “I haven’t even showed off all my skills yet.”

“Well, let’s see those skills you keep talking about.” Superboy taunted her.

“If you say so Superboy.” She smirked at him then frowned.  “I don’t appreciate that your actual name is the name I would have called you to taunt you.  You’re making my job harder.”

He frowned at her, the amused look that had been in his eyes dropping.  “So sorry my name is an inconvenience.  You can call me The Weapon like my makers did if you prefer.”

Chimera stood up straight, fidgeting and frowning at him.  “That’s… really?” She looked around to the other heroes.  They all nodded solemnly.

She looked back at him with softer eyes.  “What do you want to be called?” She asked in a kind tone.

“I… Superboy.”  He said stiffly, not exactly sure how to respond to the shift in atmosphere.

Chimera nodded and gave him a warm smile.  “Superboy it is.  No nicknames unless you approve of them.”

“As heartwarming as this is, you are supposed to be sparring.” Black Canary reminded them.

“Right,” Chimera said shook her head to refocus herself. “Sorry.”  She whispered “Mirage,” bringing her flute up to her lips.  As soon as the notes were heard, a dozen replicas of her appeared and began running around the circle.  Superboy tried to scan them but they all looked identical even with his infrared vision.  He stilled to listen for a heartbeat or breathing, but he couldn’t detect it in any of them.  He looked around wildly.  It was a sea of dark brown and bright orange.  He nodded to himself calculating the possibilities.  Most likely she managed to split herself.  So either they are all fully sentient or there is a central figure controlling them.  He’d have to hope for the latter.

His eyes flicked to one of the figures running at him.  The figure jumped into a flying kick.  He dodged out of the way and rolled to his feet, looking around again for the next attack. He didn’t wait long.  Another figure ducked low to sweep his feet.  He jumped over her but felt a sharp pain in his side as one of the replicas body checked him with enough force to knock him into the far wall.  

Superboy shook his head to clear it.  When he took more than a few seconds to recover, the replicas looked at him concerned.  One of them finally moved forward and asked “Are you okay to continue?”  

He stared at the replica for a few moments before nodding.  “We’re not done yet.”  All the replicas smiled at him and moved into new positions, waiting for him to indicate he was ready.  As soon as he nodded two replicas moved to attack him, one went high, one went for his legs.  He lunged for the one going high, jumping over the one going for his legs.  As soon as he reached her, she disappeared.  Not meeting the resistance he had expected, the force of the lunge caused him to lay out flat on the floor.  He grunted and jumped up before any of the replicas could attack again.  

As soon as he was up he looked around with a grin. “Mirage,” he repeated.  They were all an illusion.  He just had to find the real one.  Two attacked him again.  He hit one causing it to disappear but the other one hit him with her flute, knocking him to the side.  He shook his head again and turned back to them and backed away, giving himself space. He just had to find the one. There had to be an indication of which one was the real one.  He couldn’t use his infrared vision or hearing.  Maybe there was something about them.  He stared at them as they circled around each other.  There!  There was one with a different shade of orange, the shade Chimera had before the match. All the replicas had bright orange but the real Chimera had deep orange accents.  

He kept his eyes moving so she wouldn’t know he’d made her.  He moved forward toward one of the replicas moving to punch her.  Chimera attacked from the side again, coming at him before he could touch the replica and make it disappear.  He grinned to himself.  At the last second, he changed his trajectory and sent another haymaker toward her.  He jerked back in pain as the replica he had been moving toward originally made contact, knocking the air out of his lungs. He grunted in anger and confusion as a rope was tied around him, pinning down his arms.  His legs were swept out from under him causing him to land hard. He trashed with all his strength as he felt her tying his legs too.  He kept thrashing against the rope, but no matter how hard he pushed and pulled, the rope showed no indication of weakening.  

After a few moments of him pointlessly struggling, Black Canary walked over and declared Chimera the winner.  She smiled excitedly at Chimera.  “Now we know what we’re working with and we can plan how to incorporate your skills into missions and approaches to your training.”

Chimera nodded in understanding and looked over to the team who were still watching her in various degrees of surprise.  Kaldur nodded in approval.  Wally and Artemis stared at her in shock.  Robin was pointing and laughing at Superboy.  Chimera glowered at him and turned back to Superboy, releasing the rope so he could get up.  

As soon as he was freed, Superboy jumped up and rubbed his arms, glaring at the floor.  Chimera smiled nervously in his direction, but he refused to look at her and had turned his body away from her.  She sighed and looked down too, shifting nervously.  After a few moments, she started gathering up the rope to tie it back around her waist.  She furrowed her brows at the sound of Robin still laughing, which seemed to upset Superboy even more.  She narrowed her eyes at him and whipped the rope out in his direction.  It snapped a few inches away from his face with a crack so loud it reverberated throughout the cave.  Robin jumped away awkwardly and fell backwards, landing on his butt.

Superboy looked from Robin to her.  He let out a small laugh and gave her a smile. Chimera took it as a good sign and smiled back at him.  “That was a lot of fun.  You are really good at picking up on details, otherwise that color trick wouldn’t have worked.” Her voice was soft, like she was addressing a scared child.

He nodded at her and quietly said, “Thanks. It was fun.”

“Does that mean we can do it again sometime?  I need practice sparring and I’m usually afraid I’ll hurt someone when I’m in the suit and when I’m not, it isn’t as effective. I mean, helpful still, but not as effective.”  He stared at her for a few seconds but finally nodded at her.

“That was a pretty good introduction but it’s getting late now.  I think it’s time to call it a night.  Red Tornado, can you take Chimera to the room she will be using so she can recharge?” Black Canary asked.

When Chimera returned a few minutes later, the group smiled at her and gave their goodbyes.  They made plans for everyone to return the next day for more training.  One by one, they all left through the Zeta tubes except for Superboy.  Chimera looked at him confused.  “Are you not leaving too?”

“No.” He stated coldly.

“Why not?  I mean… if you don’t mind me asking.” She stammered out.

“Because I live here.” He grumbled back at her.

“Alone?” She gasped.

“With Red Tornado.” He corrected defiantly.

“But no other… people? In this big, empty, cold place?” She looked out over the cave, the empty, cold, inhospitable place he was going to call home.

“I like being alone.”  He stated in an annoyed voice.

Something that looked like anger flashed across her face transforming into a determined look before she smoothed it out and gave him a cheeky grin.  “That’s a shame.”  

He narrowed his eyes looking at her suspiciously, “Why is that?”

“I’m moving in.”  Her smile grew bigger.

He furrowed his brow and frowned, “What?”

“I’m moving in.  I have school and, uh… stuff during the day, but I’ll be here in the mornings and at night, most weekends.” She nodded at him.  “It will be like a sleepover every night… except we’ll be sleeping in separate rooms.”

He stared at her for a few seconds, unsure how to react. “Whatever,” he grunted walking back toward the residence area.  “Dinner is usually in like 30 minutes.” He called over his shoulder.  She smiled in his direction.  It wasn’t a warm welcome but it was better than nothing.  

“Are you sure about this?  It isn’t required for you to live here.  Most of the members don’t.” Black Canary reassured her.

“That’s why I’m doing it.  I’ve already had one teammate who had to live essentially alone and isolated in a big, empty space.  He hated it.  It messes with your self-worth and your ability to interact with other people, no matter how badly you want to.  It scrapes away at your humanity.  I couldn’t really do anything for his living situation, but I can do something for Superboy.”

“It will make keeping your identity more difficult.” Batman warned her softly.

“I know, but he’s my teammate.  I won’t abandon him.  And I need a friend here too.  I’ll be all alone otherwise, so… it will be mutually beneficial… I hope.”  She added tentatively.

Batman and Black Canary shared an approving look with each other and turned back to her.  “Okay.  Let us or Red Tornado know if you need anything.  We really think you are going to fit in amazingly with this team.”

Chimera smiled at them and shifted slightly to look out over the rest of the cave.  “I think so, too.”

Chapter 2

#connette #connerette #konmari #maribat #Marinette x Conner #marikon #capturing a dream #conner x marinette

[khneltea]

Jasonette headcannon #1 section b.

Woah, so apparently y'all like this stuff. Uhm, takes inspiration from @mochegato and @SquareBrain on AO3

Previous

↬ Jason will never admit that he felt scared out of his wits as he rocked up to the shop

↬ nope, nuh-uh, never

↬ the store owner who stood a head shorter than him wasn't scary in the slightest

↬ so, dressed up in his best leather jacket and jeans, plus that old red shirt that may or may not have a bullet hole in it somewhere but was the best one he could find, he opened the door to the shop

↬ only to tremble in his boots at who was in the shop (whether it was anger or sheer fear, he will not admit to either and will deny all allegations of said trembling)

↬ inside was 2 of the biggest crime lords in Gotham, the one from the docks and the one from the underground, notorious for trying to tear each other's throats out, sitting peacefully on pretty pink cushions and enjoying pastries and tea out of tiny dainty tea cups

↬ what.the.actual.fuck.

↬ the glaringly pink (he supposed that was the theme) door to the right suddenly burst open and out comes the lady of the hour, and behind her was a very hot teenage girl (about 15 years old), but for some reason, he didn't really pay attention to her

↬ all eyes were on the two ladies, the hot one giggling away about a quinceañera while the owner of the shop smiled serenely, surveying the surroundings (probably checking if there was a gang war)

↬ her bluebell eyes popped out when they saw him (he says it was because he was handsome, but don't listen to him-)

↬ "hello! Welcome to my boutique, would you like to take a seat while checking our ready-made garments? Or are you here for a commision?"

↬ "uhhhhhhh..." Jason didn't think that far ahead. And it's hard going impromptu when there was a beautiful lady devoting all her attention on him

↬ she smiled like she knew exactly what he was thinking

↬ "why don't you take a seat, monsieur, and I'll help you out dans juste un instant (oh gosh, I'm sorry all you people who speak french who are going to call me out for using Google translate-)"

↬ so he's just sitting there, a tiny tea cup with little black cats and ladybugs on the sides held in his hands as he sees her negotiating a purchase with one of the mobster groups

↬ he nearly sighed in relief when the crime lord by the docks left with the gorgeous girl (probably his daughter now that he thought about it) after leaving a heavy briefcase and a business card in exchange for a beautiful sleek gown and matching accessories

↬ kinda scared him how friendly they both seemed to the store owner and how...warm that look in both the father and daughter's eyes were

↬ and he couldn't help but flinch when the crime lord from Gotham underground (is this a thing-) grins while the blue eyed woman started taking his measurements

↬ "doll, you're always welcome to come over anytime. You're good at business, I need more people like that."

↬ she has the fucking audacity to laugh. Laugh, I tell you

↬ "non, non, monsieur. I am quite happy with my little shop over here. Besides, the young ones would miss my pastries too much if I moved."

↬ he waved a hand. "Those street rats? If that's all that it takes to get you on my side, then consider them to be in better protection and care than those kids Wayne adopts every 5 seconds."

↬ got to say, his heart went thump when he pieced together that she took care of the street kids

↬ she grins "well, you're already giving them protection for living in my block, so that's all I need. Don't worry about the rest, I've got it covered."

↬ the crime lord shrugs. "Eh, I don't really care about the brats. But you, you're the one that needs protecting. Where else will I be getting these good suits that don't tear all the goddamn time from knives and guns? Plus, what's another 5 or 6 men patrolling this area to keep my favourite designer safe? If it makes you happy that they're inadvertently looking out for the kids, then better for me."

↬ wait those suits protected him from knives and guns????? Who the hell was this woman???

↬ smiling in response, but not as brightly anymore, she stood up, jotting down some notes in her book

↬ "alright, monsieur, you'll have to come in to a fitting on Saturday, presumably before your interaction with Monsieur Falcone at 1pm, so would it be presumptuous to ask if you come in at 10:30?"

↬ "not at all, my dear! it's a pleasure of doing business with you"

↬ "also, preferably, don't wear the flashy red suit you have, might i recommend the blue one from the fitting before last week's? Monsieur Falcone would gladly appreciate the red suit blaring in his eyes after the concussion he received recently"

↬ wait

↬ how the fuck did she know that

↬ falcone got that last night (he should know, he gave it to him)

↬ and the only ones who should know about it right now are him, Falcone, and no one else

↬ either this kid was magic, or she was Alfred level shit (he's still not convinced that Alfred is fully human)

↬ "thanks doll" and the crime lord leaves

↬ she turns to him, smiles and everything

↬ "alright, monsieur hood, what would you like to purchase today? or are you still having difficulty choosing?"

↬ uhm fuck ok

↬ how the hell do you talk to pretty, badass women that can probably take over the entirety of Gotham in a day

↬ "uhhhhhh got anything in red that doesn't make me look like a fucking period stain?"

↬ she giggled in a way that you know it's not flirting but just generally found it funny, and he thought it was the creation of the universe

↬ "i'm sure we can find you something, monsieur hood."

↬ proceeds to pull him up (what the fuck she was so strong for such a tiny girl) and lead him to the back room

↬ fabrics upon fabrics upon fabrics lay everywhere in chaos, but he felt like if he moved something, the balance of the room would be upset

↬ finally comes to a bar that ran from one end of a rack to the other, thin fabrics lining it

↬ the blue-eyed girl takes a beautiful black silk cravat with red embroidery that boldly stood out (yes, he knows what a cravat is, sue him for wanting to know what Mr Knightley, Mr Bingley, and Mr Darcy wore in the books) and drapes it over his neck, critically eyeing it

↬ in the process, pulling him down by the neck to look at it and being very close to her pink plump lips

↬ uhm fuck what do i do what do i say who am i what is life what the fuck austen you didn't prepare me for this-

↬ "as i thought", she says, "this is a good colour scheme for you, but probably more of a black with a tinge of brown and a more muted red colour scheme for everyday use."

↬ she walks away and comes back with a measuring tape and measures his neck, shoulders, arms, and starts measuring around the torso

↬ he doesn't even register this because of how efficient she is and because he was used to it from living with Bruce fucking Wayne (he won't admit that he was just too distracted by the way her dainty little fingers brushed against the back of his ears as she leaned forward to check the measurements, nor when they fluttered against his biceps and chest)

↬ when she's done, she starts writing measurements and mumbling under her breath, which snaps him out of his stupor

↬ "why did you take my measurements?"

↬ "a good cravat needs a good suit, and what better than for me to make a matching one when I have the time and resources to do it?"

↬ she fucking grinned at him like a devious minx who knew more about him than she should and he melted a bit. 

↬ just a little bit.

↬ turning around, she stuck her hand out, still smiling like a fucking seductress

↬ "I'll be making your suit and cravats, let's hope to a wonderful relationship, it's going to be a pleasure working with you."

↬ he tried to match her smile, but ended up feeling like a dork with his heart beating 200 times a second. and he felt like an even bigger dork when he took her hand and gave her a small kiss on the knuckles. "believe me, the pleasure is all mine, dove. might i dare, i fain would ask, for your sweet name? that while a rose by any other name would smell as sweet, i feel that yours would double in so."

↬ she smiled back at him.

↬ "why, good sir, it is a good show of faith in the honey to the flower of life, as Hugo quotes, but I wish you would take me to dinner first before such matters. My name, you ask? It is Marinette, Marinette Dupain-Cheng."

↬ He smirked. "My name is Jason Todd."

↬ "I know, Monsieur Hood."

↬ "Wait, how the fuck do you know-"

#what the fuck was this #ok this was way longer than planned #designer mari #jasonette #mari is alfred #mari can be overlord #didn't plan for this but it happened #maribat #ml x dc #miraculous ladybug #dc comics #prompt? #headcannon? #what is my life #jason todd #red hood #marinette dupain cheng #jason x marinette #jason thinks she's hot

[emsylcatac]

Translation of the new Shanghai special trailer (22/03)

At this point I’ll just drop the date in the title because who knows how much more we’re gonna get LOL

Once again, this is a rough translation and I’m not sure of how to spell some of the names so I’m sorry if it’s incorrect but here you goooo!

Fei (??) in the street:

F: I would like to see people for who they are. Thinking of them as stories. Their small joys, they great happiness, their disappointment, their success… My name is Fei (?). Becoming my adoptive father, Un Shu Fu (??) made me the new guardian. From now, there was only me to protect the secret of the cave during the next enchanted eclipse. 

* * *

Car scene:

Marinette’s uncle: My most beautiful gift is your visit, Marinette, it makes me really happy!

* * *

Adrien in the streets:

The guys he meets: Hey! You wouldn’t happen to be Adrien Agreste, the famous model?

* * *

Back to Fei:

F: Being the guardian, I really have to get back the key. And for that, I need money.

Random bad guy: Fei… What treasure are you bringing me today…

* * *

Marinette & Fei running:

M: All of my stuffs have been stolen!

F: Follow me!

* * *

Chat Noir on his phone baton:

CN: My Lady, a French girl we know Marinette Dupain-Cheng has disappeared in Shanghai.

* * *

Marinette & Fei talking in the streets:

F: Why are you alone in Shanghai?

M: I had come to find a friend—

F: —Over here!

* * *

Chat Noir on the phone:

CN: If you have this message, come and join me I need your help!

* * *

Gabe spying on Marinette & Fei:

M: Why did you bring us here?

F: I have to watch over my father’s heritage. They took the bracelet my father entrusted me with!

M: Who are these people you’re telling me about?

* * *

Back with Gabe and his mafia criminal mallet:

G: The time has come..

* * *

Ladynoir on the phone:

LB: To tell you everything, I just saw an Akumas!

CN: What?!

Next scene HM does some weird magic with the bracelet:

F: It’s my bracelet!

HM: I’ve been waiting for this moment for now 15 long years!

* * *

Then stuffs happen:

CN: Cataclysm!

Idk who talks, a man but who? No idea: The power of the dragon is the most powerful of all!

#miraculous #ml translation #ml spoilers #ml shanghai special #ml shanghai #miraculous shanghai #mine