#what if marinette was tired and leaned her head on his shoulder and fell asleep and glanced over at her and then smiled & closed HIS eyes

[anna-scribbles]

what if adrien and marinette like. held hands. or something

#i’m still thinking about that time in wishmaker when they sat on the ground next to each other. that fed me for months #what if marinette was tired and leaned her head on his shoulder and fell asleep and glanced over at her and then smiled & closed HIS eyes #or or what if adrien facetimed marinette specifically in order to tell her she is so special and important to him specifically. #and then fell asleep clutching his phone to his chest and smiling softly #what if adrien loaned marinette an umbrella and then recognized it like a year later and then honked his head on his car because he couldn’t #stop staring at her #sorry to everyone whose favorite side is something other than adrinette but i’m literally WINNING #i need to go to sleep #anna rambles #ml

[nerdypanda3126]

Caffeine Cleric

This was written for the @lovebugs-and-snakecharmers Sprint Fic Challenge.

The "rules" are three 15-minute sprints with 24 hours for light editing, which includes new writing to smooth transitions or make it feel complete. Technically on this one I did two sprints and then just wrote the last part without a time limit.

This time around I used this as the prompt.

Read on Ao3

Luka stared at the woman with disheveled midnight hair and circles under her eyes dark enough to match. 

"Um, Miss?" 

She blinked blearily back at him like she wasn't seeing him clearly. Which, if she was as tired as she looked, she probably wasn't. 

"Mmm?" 

"About your order." 

"Mhmm." She slid a twenty across to him and leaned her head against the glass pastry case and settled in like she was going to nap right then and there. 

"Whoa. Okay, hang on." Luka hurried out from behind the counter, thankful she was the only one in line, and scooped an arm underneath hers to hold her up. Her head flopped onto his shoulder and she hummed again and nuzzled him unconsciously. His stomach did a weird, fluttery flip.

He helped her into a booth and she laid her head down on the table and instantly fell asleep. He didn't know what to do. There were rules about this sort of thing, but she did technically order and pay, it was just… 

As he paused awkwardly, not quite sure what to do, he noticed that her eyelashes were as dark as her hair, and long enough to flutter against the table in her sleep. She was pretty. 

He shook himself out of that train of thought and wandered back behind the counter, but he didn't even know what to begin to make her. 

"Fuck me up, caffeine cleric," had been her only instruction. And $20 could purchase a lot towards that goal. 

He glanced back over at her; she had splayed out across the table and started snoring lightly. 

He had a better idea. 

***

Marinette snuggled into something soft with a faint, lingering scent of old coffee and hazelnut syrup as she woke up. 

Wait. Woke up. 

She startled to attention and found herself in a café booth. There was a hoodie on the table that was all bunched up and she'd apparently been using it as a pillow, but she didn't know whose it was. She looked around, embarrassed, to find that the shop had filled up throughout the morning and she was no longer the only one in the store. 

The guy behind the counter with blue hair and tattoos covering his forearms caught her eye as he helped someone else, but even across the room she could tell he was concerned. She blushed and checked her pockets surreptitiously. Everything was still there, including her phone that was completely dead. She groaned as she tossed it aside and looked around for a clock to try to determine how long she'd been asleep. 

"You've been here an hour," a voice said next to her. She jumped and the guy from behind the counter chuckled and slid into the seat across from her as he handed her a drink in a ceramic mug and counted out change onto the table. She kept her eyes on his shiny black nail polish and slender fingers instead of staring at his brightly colored tattoos. 

She furrowed her eyebrows at the drink in front of her, thoroughly confused. It smelled amazing. Like cinnamon and apples and caramel and home. She held it between her hands, enjoying the warmth, before she snuck a glance at his face. 

Cute, was her first thought, but then he turned the full force of those bright blue eyes on her and she quickly revised that to damn cute.  

"It might not 'fuck you up,' but I think that'll help more anyways," he said then, and she retreated into the collar of her sweater as a flush of heat crept up her cheeks. 

"Please tell me I did not say that." 

He chuckled again, and when he smiled there was a dimple in his right cheek. 

"Alright, you didn't say that. And you also definitely did not address me as 'caffeine cleric.'" 

She hid her face in her hands and then buried it in the hoodie on the table for good measure. Now that she was a little more awake, she caught the subtle hint of cologne that still lingered from where it must've been sprayed earlier. 

Like before a shift. 

She dared to lift her head to look, and this totally cute guy was watching her with laughter dancing in his eyes. 

"This is yours, isn’t it?"

***

Cute, Luka thought, as he smiled—kindly, he hoped, instead of dopily—and nodded in response. She pushed the bundled up hoodie back at him and hid in the collar of her pale pink sweater as her cheeks quickly turned the same color.  

He tore his eyes away from her and tried not to think about how his hoodie would probably smell like her hair for the rest of the day. 

"I thought it'd be more comfortable than the table," he said. 

"...Thank you," she finally muttered, muffled by the fabric covering her lips. 

"You're welcome." 

"For the drink, too. I know I wasn't entirely… coherent…" 

"Coherent enough," he said, hiding his chuckle with a cough. She groaned.

"I am. So. Sorry. It's just there's this huge deadline and my boss is—well, I mean Audrey Bourgeois isn't exactly known for her forgiveness—and I screwed up and it took me all night to fix it, and I'm supposed to be back in—" 

She paled as her eyes widened in horror. 

"...What time is it?" she croaked. 

He checked his phone from his apron pocket. "10h." 

She stood up so quick that the table jostled uncertainly before it tipped towards her, taking the drink he'd made with it and spilling it all over her. 

She hissed in a breath of surprise, then looked down at herself and froze. A small whimper escaped her before she sat back down in the puddle, dejected. 

"No point going now," she muttered as she tucked her face into her folded arms and looked ready to either cry or fall back asleep. 

He hesitated, then reached out and touched her arm gently. She peeked out at him from under her bangs. 

Sheepishly, he offered the hoodie that was still balled up in his hands. She blushed bright red, but accepted it, and bundled it up under her head. He didn't even care that it also served to sop up some of the mess still on the table. Better on his hoodie than in her hair. 

"Stay as long as you like," he said, then stood to retreat back behind the cash register.

She caught his wrist as he turned to leave. 

"You'll… keep watch, or something, right?" 

The way she fluttered her eyelashes and bit her bottom lip uncertainly made his heart race and his words stick in his throat. He swallowed thickly. 

"...Yeah… Sure," he finally managed. 

She smiled. God, she smiled at him. He blinked back at her stupidly, then slipped his wrist through her fingers until he was holding her hand in his. It was the briefest of moments, but it felt like time had frozen. 

Her lips parted in surprise. Her blue eyes widened under those pretty dark lashes. Her cheeks were still a deep shade of pink, and getting darker by the second. He watched as her eyes raked over him, as she checked him out, and as she liked what she saw. 

Finally, his fingertips slipped away from hers and the moment was broken. 

"I'm Luka," he choked out. "Or, you know, caffeine cleric, whatever works." 

She hid a giggle behind her hand. "I like Luka." 

As soon as she registered what she said, her eyes widened again in embarrassment. "I mean! I like the name—Luka—not that I like—well, I mean I do like you—I mean!" She slapped her hands over her face and groaned. "Ma-Ma-Marinette. I'm… Marinette." 

The words tumbled out of his mouth, all mixed up with a nervous chuckle.

"I like you, too, Ma-Ma-Marinette."

#lukanette #pro lukamari #lukanette endgame #endgame lukanette #luka couffaine #marinette dupain cheng #coffeeshop au #lbsc sprint fic #panda sprints

[thr-333]

Just Another Class Trip :)

Part 1

No, no ignore the smily face i assure you it means nothing foreboding, nothing foreboding at all.

Next >

---------

“It’s suspicious,” Marinette glares as they leave customs.

“What would that be, Mari?” Chloe yawns, not bothering to dedicate her limited remaining brain power apparently.

“Lila,” She whispers back, “She’s been so quiet all the way here,”

“What about how she weaseled her way into first class?” Chloe yawns again, sleep mask resting on her head.

“Or tried to steal your bag,” Kagami says with venom, her having saved Marinette from that disaster.

“Accused you of giving her the wrong flight time,” Adrien adds, somehow being full awake even after their long flight.

“Slipped metal into your pocket so security would go off,” Chloe downright glares at Adrien, but would never admit to the bags under her eyes.

“Came by and woke you up every time you fell asleep,” Kagami looks at her pointedly, shadows under her eyes being her only give away.

“Too quite,” Marinette whispers, the list going largely ignored as they approach the security scan.

“Just relax Mari,”  Adrien pats her shoulder, not enough to break her concentration, “Lila will be so distracted by being in Gotham she won't have time for you,”

Adrien was wrong.

Of course he was wrong.

This is Lila they're talking about.

“Oh Marinette!” Lila all but yells as Marinette is placing her bag in a tray, “I’m so glad you didn’t go through with it,”

Marinette cringes, the security guards all looking her way as Lila dances off. She just sighs as she is escorted away by the airport security, to the protest of her friends and not much else.

“No sir I am not holding any firearms or weapons,” Marinette answers as monotone as possible, the security guard didn’t deserve her ire not matter how tiresome this was getting.

“We interview the source,” Oh no “Apparently you were discussing terrorist activities,”

“I was not sir, Lila must be mistaken,” Yep big mistake, I’m sure that's all it is , “I’m simply here for a class trip,”

“You’re wearing a bulletproof vest,”

Yeah probably should have left that one at home

“My parents are protective, they know how dangerous Gotham can be,” They were not fans of the horror stories Aunt Selina used to tell her from this city, “They insisted I have it as protection,”

While they most certainly wanted her to be safe the vest was more her idea. It was also more for enabling trouble than avoiding it. At least she was trying to be safe about secret crime fighting.

“Makes sense,” He sighs from across the table, checking through some paperwork, “You’re seventeen, here on a class trip right?”

“Yes sir,”

“Well if you’re here on a Wayne funded trip they probably did and extensive background check,” He pauses for a minute looking deep in thought, “Alright then, you can go,”

That seems kind of lax

“Are you sure?”

“We literally have super villains walking through here every other day,” True that, “You’re holding no weapons and have been endorsed by the Wayne's that's better than most people that have been in here,”

“Well if you’re sure,” Marinette stands awkwardly walking to the door as he waves her off, “Is there anything I need to sign, or…”

“Unless I want to fill out extra paperwork, no,” He seems so tired, Marinette wished she could get back at Lila for making his job harder.

“Have a good day then!” She smiles brightly, getting a small one in return.

She leaves, the security guards handing back her bag, fortunately not mentioning the miracle box or her Kwamis. She smiles brightly, even with Lila trying to ruin her trip she could still enjoy her time here in Gotham- and her phone buzzes with an Akuma alert.

With a sigh, Marinette ducks into the nearest bathroom, locking a stall behind her.

“Kaalki,” The Kwami zips out of her bag, “Tikki, Combine,”

With a flash of light followed by another she appears in Paris dropping Kaalki’s transformation.

She looks over the city, some Akuma attacking the Eiffel tower. At least they didn't seem to be the brainwashing type, she didn’t have Chat Noir there to help with crowd control.

With a flip she jumps, planning to kick the Akuma on the way down. They dodge and she lands in front of them instead.

“Well, well if it isn’t the bug,” The Akuma, in a horrible patch work costume mocks, a purple mask appearing over their face, “Hand over your miraculous!”

How about you come and make me Hawkmoth? I promise to stick that cane up your ass

Oh how she wishes she could say just that, but it wouldn't be very Ladybug of her. Why did the younger her have to have a stick up her butt?

“Not today Hawkmoth,” She says instead, making sure to put the practiced amount of enthusiasm into it, “Or any other day for that matter,”

“How are you going to save Paris without your little kitty cat?”

How are you going to beat me with that terrible fashion sense

Besides Chat Noir deserved a break. At least she hoped he was taking a break, he couldn’t tell because of secret identity reasons. It wasn't like she had any right to stop him, she was having a vacation in Gotham right now, and she was out all the time for work. She could manage without Chat for a while, he deserved that much.

“I will do whatever it takes to protect the people of Paris,” Ladybug remembers to answer the question.

“Hand over your miraculous now!” The Akuma lunges at her

I should have chosen a different persona

She dodges the beam of light that can’t mean anything good. Jumping back to get some distance.

Chat Noir had the right idea

She bites back the cutting remark on the tip of her tongue. Instead throw out her yo to wrap around their arm. The Akuma pulls it forward, sending her through the air. She leans into it swinging around to get a better vantage point, studying the monologuing Akuma below.

Maybe I can for Starling

She has created Starling as a vigilante identity to use in Gotham, if the class was ever in trouble. No not if, when . With a sigh she summons her lucky charm getting a table tennis paddle.

Although I’m only meant to use that identity as a disguise to protect the class

The only thing that stood out was the Akuma's hand, she'd have to gather more information before striking.

Maybe Starling can have a word or two with Lila, that could be fun

She drops down in front of the Akuma. They seemed to like monologuing, maybe all she had to do was probe a little bit.

“Why would you want to side with Hawkmoth?”

“This is my family's greatest heirloom it has been passed from generation to generation for centuries, some fool broke it and I was crushed having disappointed all my ancestors!” The Akuma holds up a broach type jewel, “But Hawkmoth- Hawkmoth brought it back and now my greatest and dearest treasure will forever be-”

Ladybug smacks it to the ground, crushing it underfoot.

The Akuma looks at her shocked, letting out a long drawn out gasp. Marinette does not meet their eye as she catches the Akuma. She throws the paddle she used to smack it out of their hand into the air to cast the cure.

I must be really jet lagged, I’m usually at least a little more creative than that, but it worked

She pretends not to see the reporters coming in for interviews, seeing the victim and their broach in one piece. She makes a speedy exit, needing to transport back to Gotham before the class get too ancy.

“I’m sorry the rented bus left a long time ago,” The attendant informed her, looking sorry for the dishevelled teen.

Marinette groaned, so much for running around the airport for thirty minutes with a dead phone. Thanking the attendant she sulks off to collect her bag instead, she’d have to figure another way to the hotel.

She spends another hour hunting down her bag. Chasing after leads of people who might have mistook it. Checking again with Airport security, who again pulled her aside for having a suspicious missing bag. Luckily the security guard before defended her, she brought him a coffee and two for herself.

“Maybe someone will return it?” Tikki whispers, her and Kaalki hidden in the folds of her scarf.

“It’s fine Tikki,” Marinette sighs, halfway through her first cup in under a minute, “I have replicas of all of them anyway, I’ll just grab some samples from the MDC fashion show,”

She’d have to stop by later, the outfits should have been transported last week along with most of her recent catalogue. The only problem was all the other necessities she lost. But that wasn’t a problem, she carried the miracle box in her backpack and that's all that really matters.

“And some of my… special outfits when we go back home,”

She had altered her current outfit to transform into her vigilante disguise. Her scarf pulled up and could be turned inside out into a mask. Her skirt could be transformed into a cape and hood combo. A zip down the middle of the skirt to split it for the cape and a zip up hood that lay flat along her skirt. She simply turned it inside out and wore it around her shoulders. Combined with a bullet proof vest it wasn't half bad, her belt full of weapons could always be hid under her skirt which was a big plus.

She sighs waiting for a taxi in the cold Gotham air, hating it more than most. Although she supposed superhuman strength was a fair exchange for extra cold fingers. Marinette fought to stay awake, she had also been holding Kaalki for so long she was starting to develop the ability to sleep standing up and would doze off randomly. Certainly helpful at times, but not right now.

“Hello,” Marinette is startled out of her drowsiness.

She looks at the hesitant young man before her, looking just as tired as she is.

“Hello?”

“Is something the matter?” Something sparks at the back of her mind, a feeling she often gets from Chloe whenever she is helpful.

Do I look that bad?

“Just a mix up with transportation,” She smiles, he clearly knows it’s fake.

“Do you need a ride?”

“No I’m-” She sighs, what could go wrong getting in the car of a random person in Gotham, “Yes, I do thank you,”

“Over here, I’m Tim by the way” He stifles a yawn, leading her towards a limousine, the door being opened by a driver.

“Marinette, here,” She hands over the extra coffee, “You look like you need it just as much as me,”

Tim looks at her like a god sent, taking the coffee as they reach the limo.

“Good call Alfred,” Tim whispers to the driver, slipping into the car.

“Hello miss, I am Alfred Pennyworth,” She shakes his hand, something stronger fires at the back of her mind, a true holder perhaps? But Chloe was a true holder right?

“Marinette Dupain-Cheng,” She smiles, trying to assess what miraculous would suit him.

“Best get inside Miss Dupain-Cheng,” She climbs inside at Alfred's behest, “Gotham is awfully cold for a Lady,”

She gets the feeling that is not chivalry.

“Where to Miss Dupain-Cheng?” Alfred asks, already in the driver's seat.

“Wayne hotel please,” She pulls her backpack onto her lap, still regarding Alfred suspiciously.

“Traveling alone?” Tim asks absentmindedly, still nursing his coffee cup.

“I’m here with my class, they left without-” No that's no good , “I got held up they went ahead,”

“Class… staying at the Wayne hotel…” Tim mumbles to himself.

“I believe what Master Tim is trying to ask is if you are part of the Martha Wayne foundation trip,” Alfred informs from the front seat.

“Yeah that,” Tim takes another scalding gulp of coffee.

“Yes I sent in the submission, I’m still surprised we got it,” Marinette had been thrilled at a trip to Gotham, it is where her Aunt Selina lives after all.

“You seem very responsibility Miss Dupain-Cheng,” Alfred complements, “Almost as if you could shoulder the weight of Paris,”

“I didn’t say where I was from,” Marinette tenses getting more than a little unsettled, he seemed to know something more.

“Not to worry, I have close connections with the Wayne's and was aware this years class was from Paris is all,”

“I see,” Marinette nods along, the possible meaning behind the comment still being concerning.

“We forgot your bags!!!” Tim suddenly yells, jumping up and making Marinette jump, they both curse in sync as they spill coffee on themselves.

“It’s alright!” luckily the coffee landed on her black tights, so no noticeable stains, “My bags were stolen,”

“Oh…” Tim relaxes back, “Wait… that's not alright at all!”

“It’s fine, I already have a plan to get some spare clothes and I just need to run to the store,”

“Right… to the Wayne hotel was it?” Marinette nods and Tim starts tapping away at his phone.

She fishes out some wet wipes from her bag, passing them to Tim, who looks confused until she points out the growing coffee stain. With a smile and a few more taps at the phone he takes them off her.

“Left behind and bags stolen, doesn't sound like your Lucky day,” Alfred presses, and he needs to stop, it could be chance, surely its just chance.

“I guess not,”

You don’t know the half of it.

“Well I hope the rest of your day is much better,” Tim bids as they pull up to the hotel.

“Thank you, and thank you so much for the ride,” Alfred opens the door for her to get out.

“Not a problem,” She waves them off, watching them disappear down the street.

They’re nice, probably wont ever get to see them again, thats a shame

“Dick! Holy fuck!” Tim kicks down the door of his brothers room, “I just met the nicest girl who's had the shittest day on earth,”

“First of all welcome back, how was your trip?” Dick greets hanging from the ceiling as Tim takes his desk chair, “Second, what are you talking about?”

“Met a girl at the Airport who didn’t have a ride, she gave me coffee,”

“That's enough to buy your loyalty,” Dick grins, Tim flips him off.

“Listen, she's part of that Martha Wayne Foundation trip and her class left her at the Airport!”

“What?!” Dick drops from the ceiling onto his bed, “Thats so dangerous, especially in Gotham,”

“Right?! She even had her luggage stolen!” Tim pushes the chair over to Dick, “And she was still so nice, even after an eight hour flight!”

“You said she was part of the Wayne foundation trip?” Dick asks, getting a nod from Tim, “Yeah, we are definitely seeing her again,”

#miraculous #miraculous ladybug fic #miraculous ladybug #miraculous fanfic #miraculous marinette #mlb #ml fic #ml #bio dad bruce wayne #Bio Dad Bruce Wayne Month 2020 #bio! dadbrucewaynemonth2020 #b!dbwm2020 #biodad au #Marinette #badass marinette #maribat #marinette is mdc #salt #class salt #Lila salt #lila lies #fluff

[princessjaqulinechess1031]

Sleep

Summary: Marinette falls asleep on Damian. 

Characters: Damian Wayne, Marinette Dupain-Cheng 

Marinette pulled her hair into a bun on top of her hair, and Damian smiled fondly as his girlfriend moved lithely across the wooden floor of the den. Alfred the Cat sat on the floor, asleep, and the girl reached down to grab the cat, cuddling it in her arms. Alfred the Cat gave a small, non-committal yawn and then quickly fell back asleep. Damian sat on the couch, his sketchbook open in front of him, but his drawing only the beginnings of lines that had to take a full form yet.

Marinette plopped into the chair next to him, leaning her head into his shoulder as she peeked at the sketch.

“What’cha drawing?” Marinette asked. Damian kissed the top of her head and began to add more lines in an attempt to find shape.

“Unsure yet,” Damian answered. Marinette hummed and shut her eyes, curling her legs underneath her and holding Alfred the Cat close to her chest. Damian’s grin deepened as he took in the soft sight and let a moment of peace wash over him.

Damian had to play so many roles, for so many people. For the public, he was Damian Wayne, youngest of the Wayne clan and up-and-coming target for socialites to try and schmooze. For the hero community, he was Robin, partner to the Dark Knight and one in many children to take up the crusade. For his family, he was Dami, a reluctant and (at times, he would admit) petulant younger member.

But for Marinette, he was her moitié. Her other half, her friend and companion, lover and protector. There was nothing else to it. She had no expectations for him, just that he be himself around her. That he take all that was guarding him up and tear it down for her, so that she could see the boy beneath the mask, both figurative and literal.

Damian continued to sketch on the page in front of him, the markings starting to be recognizable as the form of Ladybug, crouched on a roof top, perched like she was a bird ready to take off. Damian was not surprised he had on autopilot decided to draw the mysterious new heroine of Gotham. She was, after all, sitting right next to him, adorably propped up on her shoulder as she cuddled his cat.

Maybe he could draw just Marinette next. Catch her smiles and dimples in ink forever, so that way one day maybe some far-off archaeologist would find the sketch and be able to know how beautiful she was. Marinette deserved to be remembered for so much more than her beauty, but anyway she could be remembered was enough for Damian. She was such a bright presence, Damian wondered if it could ever truly be extinguished. There’s no way it could.

Marinette yawned lightly and Damian smirked.

“Tired, nawaret aynaya?”

Marinette opened her lids slowly, her grin sleepy and groggy as she stared up at him. She dug her face into his neck to rest, and he could feel the firm press of her smile against his skin.

“Just a little,” she whispered. Damian chortled once under his breath and shut his sketchbook, setting it to the side of the couch. He wrapped one arm around her shoulders, leaning his head on top of hers.

“Go to sleep,” Damian said. “You deserve a little rest.”

It’s true, she really did. As a budding entrepreneur and fashion designer, she would understandably already be tired what with her constantly working and trying to forge network connections. But she wasn’t just a businesswoman and designer, she was Ladybug and Guardian of the Miraculous. She had so much on her plate that it was spilling off the sides and onto the floor, and Damian was left to try and catch it before it fell to the ground. If that meant having her sleep on his shoulder, that was fine by him.

(Especially when she looked so cute doing it.)

“You do too, ma moitié,” Marinette yawned, setting down Alfred the Cat in her lap. Damian kissed the top of her head as an answer, and Marinette sighed sleepily. She pulled him closer to her and slowly her breath began to even out, so that Damian knew that she was asleep.

Damian smiled deeper and kissed her temple again, shutting his eyes and let the quiet overtake him.

#Damian Wayne #marinette dupain cheng #damian x marinette #daminette #miraculous ladybug #miraculous #batman #BatFam #batman comincs #dc #CrossOver

[yannowhatigiveup]

A Blinded Kiss

I haven’t posted anything recently so I dug around in my WIPs to see if anything was even worth posting and I found this that I made a while ago. It certainly isn’t the best but it isn’t the worst out of all my other WIPs.

"Is this really necessary?" The bluenette asked, eyeing a blindfold given by her brotherly figure.

"Of course it is Pixie!" An older man with two-toned hair replied, way too over enthusiastic about the whole situation. "It's a great way to find your way around the manor”

"And it's a great family bonding experience too!" Another man in the room replied, even more enthusiastic than the first.

"Fine, I'll do it Jay" the blue-eyed girl huffed, twirling the blindfold between her fingers. "What are the rules again, Dick?"

Dick beamed at the girl before answering. "Well Mari, it's simple. Put the blindfold on, count to fifty, spin around and try to steal a hug from anyone in the manor"

"So I have to walk around the manor blindfolded and try to sneak up on you? You know that's impossible!" Marinette exclaimed, she would not go around the house looking like a touch-starved fool.

"That's exactly why we're doing it" Jason replied, shrugging his shoulders. "It'll last a long time."

After a few seconds, the blue-eyed girl sighed, giving in to both Jason and Dick. "Fine, if that's what makes you happy" Marinette wrapped the matte-black fabric tightly around her eyes, already struggling within the first few seconds. She began counting and she heard the two scuffling away, smiling while being able to tell which direction they went in. In the mean time, Marinette debated her options.

'Both Jason and Dick would be the ideal choices but they'll be able to hear me from a mile away. Tim would be the most logical one since he's half asleep, but where does he even go in this maze? God knows where Alfred is, Mr Wayne is scary. Damian-' She paused her train of thoughts, granted Marinette had only met him a few days ago but that didn't stop the crush she had heavily try to cease. 'He'd probably hear me from a mile away as well. This game is so unfair'

Soon enough, Marinette reached fifty and spun herself around, she used a bit too much force than needed so now not only was she blinded but she lost her sense of direction. Giving herself a minute to recover, the bluenette began to walk. Using her improved senses, thanks to the miraculous, Mari was slowly able to create a theoretical map in her mind, though it did take much more energy than she desired.

"Fighting an akuma is easier than this" The bluenette muttered as she hit her thigh along the corner of a wall.

Even though she was using her enhanced abilities, she'd pump into a corner or a wall every now and again, the amount of times increased when her energy was being used. After wondering a hall for what seemed like hours, the bluenette came to a staircase, one that she ever so carefully used to get to a higher floor. Once she did, she kept a hand on one of the walls, using it as a guide. Soon enough, her hand came to what felt like a doorframe. The door was closed she could tell but it was recent used due to the fact that the doorknob was warm. Making sure not to intrude, she knocked on said door, she almost missed the muffled 'come in' had she not been paying attention. Marinette opened the door, went in and quickly shut it behind her, taking a deep breath.

"Okay I hope you don't mind but which room is this and whose in the room? Dick and Jason thought it would be a good idea to walk around the manor blindfolded while trying to sneak up on them" The bluenette huffed, only to freeze when she heard a familiar chuckle.

"I've heard, you're in my room, It's Damian just to clarify" 'Sh-' "So, what task must be fulfilled to give you permission to take the blindfold off? I doubt you want to keep it on any longer" Marinette giggled.

"You're right, I would probably get lost of I continue. Um, I have to 'steal a hug' apparently"

"So you have to hug someone without them inspecting it" Damian came to that conclusion to which the bluenette nodded her head.

"Yeah that's basically it, hey do you have anywhere I could sit down? I'm getting tired..."

"Of course, my bed is five steps to your front and two steps to your right, make yourself comfortable" She wasn't sure how red she had gotten but she obliged anyway. Had she not been wearing the blindfold, she would've seen Damian smiling at her flustered state. Giving herself a moment to regain her energy, Marinette turned to where she presumed Damian was working at his desk. "Can I hug you? Jay never said I couldn't ask the person first. I-I won't if you don't want me to! I just wanted to ask so..."

She heard the boy thoughtfully hum before he made his way over to her. From what she could tell, Damian was now in front of Marinette, looming over her.

"Did Todd or Grayson say it had to be a hug?" Marinette tilted her head in confusion and thoughtfulness, that had never crossed her mind before.

"W-"

"What happens if I kiss you instead?"

The bluenette didn’t reply with words as she knew how terrible her words would be in her flustered state. But she wanted this, her heart longed for it in a way it never did for anyone else. Instead, she nodded, giving the green-eyed boy permission to do as he wished.

She felt his hand lightly tilt her chin up towards, where she presumed, his face was. Then he pressed his lips onto hers, his other had behind her head, tugging at the fabric around her eyes. Marinette felt bliss, she was glad that no one else would interrupt this moment. Shivers went down her spine as she felt Damian’s hands travel up from behind her neck and to wear the blindfold was knotted, gently tugging at the binding. She was glad that when her face was free from the fabric that comprised her vision, the first thing in her line of eyesight were Damian's deep emerald eyes, the shimmered the same way they had when she first laid eyes on him, she'd been enraptured ever since. The boy, however, was smirking as he noticed the pink that dusted her face. Without a moment passing, she threw herself the green-eyed boy, delivering a hug. As she pulled away, her hands cupped his face and she returned his embrace with one of her own. When she pulled away once more, she smiled in satisfaction at his flustered expression.

"When did you realise you had feelings for me?" Marinette asked softly, her forehead pressed against his trying to regain her breath.

"That's a very easy question" Damian stared lovingly into her eyes. "I fell the moment I saw you take down that Akuma three times your size" Her eyes widened.

"You know about me being Ladybug?"

"The same way you know I'm Robin"

They both smiled, creating a truce to not reveal anything.

"Well I better get going, see you later." She got up from the bed and opened the door, only to turn around and say "Je t'aime mon cœur" before exiting the room, leaving a blushing Damian.

Marinette walked back down the stairs, the piece of cloth in hand and small love-struck smile on her face. When she entered the main living room, she came face to face with the owner of the manor.

"Oh hello Mr Wayne"

"Hello Marinette, I see you managed to get the blindfold off" The older man gestured towards the piece of fabric in her hand. "And please, do call me Bruce. Who did you end up surprising with a hug then?"

She smiled brightly before replying. "Damian"

His usual formal demeanor broke for a moment but Bruce quickly picked the pieces back up. "He didn't attack you or injure you in any shape or form?"

Marinette decided to play the oblivious little girl. "No..? Why, does he do it often?" Her head titled in confusion.

"Nothing it doesn't matter" Bruce simply sighed and shook his head. "Also, there's something I'd like to discuss with you at dinner, if you don't mind"

"No not at all, I'll see you at dinner then?" Bruce nodded and left, leaving Marinette alone in the room, waiting for her honorary older brother and his brother to come in. Which they did but only after some time, it was hilarious to see them crouched down, talking to each other in hushed voices. They flinched as she cleared her throat, both slowly turning towards the sound to find a smug looking Marinette and a blindfold whipped around her finger.

"I win"

~~~

Most of the occupants at the table were either in an all out war or were about to be, except for Marinette and an exasperated Bruce Wayne.

"So Marinette" The eldest Wayne began, silencing the rest of the table. "I hope you don't mind me asking but when you were off searching for Jason, you mentioned attacks that have been occurring in Paris, is this true?"

No one failed to notice the girl flinch. "Yeah it's true"

"...how bad are the attacks? In your opinion"

"Well it depends on how strong the person's emotions are really. If their emotions are strong, then the Akuma is strong too"

"What's the strongest akuma that Paris has seen?" It was Tim who asked and memories of the event began swimming through her mind, she got rid of them with a shake of her head.

"The deadliest akuma Paris has experienced was an akuma called 'Syren'. She's a regular person but, as an akuma, she managed to kill around 2 million people. But don't worry! Ladybug's cure managed to bring them back to life"

"D-did... did you die, Pixie?" Jason asked, his anger mixed with worry was boiling over and luckily simmered after seeing her shake her head.

"Do you think the heroes of Paris would let heroes from the Justice League come over to help?"

Marinette contemplated for a moment, should she really risk the heroes getting akumatized? "I think they would but I wouldn't know"

Bruce nodded while Jason leaned over the table to talk closer to his honorary little-sister. "Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"I didn't want to bother you"

"You're not a bother, Pixie" Jason smiled at the bluenette on the other side of the table. "You never are and you never will be"

~~~

Marinette returned to Paris a few days later, in the mean time, Bruce and the rest of the batfam were planning their visit to the City of Love. Soon enough, the vigilantes were boarded on the plane. Their flight to Paris was relatively silent. After a few hours, they landed and the vigilantes waited on the Eiffel Tower, only to find out there was a battle going on. Before they could engage in the fight, they were engulfed with magical ladybugs that seemed to fix anything destroyed. As they were mesmerized by the cure, a certain spotted-heroine wobbly landed on the platform. Batman was first to notice.

"Ladybug" His voice caused the others to turn around. "Thank you for allowing us into your city"

Ladybug nodded, not uttering a single word.

"We were hoping, with your permission of course, that we could help you be rid of Hawkmoth once and for good" Again, Ladybug didn't reply. "Ladybug?"

When the heroine didn't respond, Batman glanced at Nightwing and the rest of his sons, clearly something was wrong. Unexpectedly, Robin took his glove off, approached the Ladybug-themed hero and placed his hand onto her forehead.

"You have a fever" he stated, his hand trailing down her face to cup her cheek. His family all shot him weird looks. She tiredly blinked at the vigilante, recognising him as Robin and allowed herself to fall into his arms, detransforming while doing so, leaving a burning hot Marinette.

"Dami?" He hummed. "Take me home, please..." She drifted off to sleep, comforted in her lover's arms. He glanced at his family, holding the bluenette close.

"Pixie...is Ladybug?" Red Hood's voice was first.

"You didn't know?" Robin's voice mocking confusion, enraging Red Hood that his youngest brother knew something about his sister that he didn't. Even more so that his demon brother was holding said sister,

"We should take her back home" Dick went over to feel the girl's forehead. "She's burning"

"Tikki?" Robin asked and a red creature flew out from one of Mari's pockets, startling most of the people there.

"I'll try to heal her on the way, follow me"

The floating red creature flew down from the Eiffel Tower, Robin and Marinette close behind. After some hesitation, the others followed, they ended up on top of a bakery. One by one, they entered through the trapdoor on the balcony, finding both Damian with his mask off and a weak looking Marinette. Despite her enfeebled state, the bluenette greeted each vigilante, her gaze landed on Jason.

"It's just a fever, I'll be fine"

Jason removed his helmet and ran a hand through his hair before both settled on his hips. "You don't look fine"

"I promise I am" She wasn't convincing, not at all.

"Fine" Jason huffed, he could never truly say no to the girl he viewed as his little sister. "But since when were you two a thing" He pointed at the two, his gaze resting maliciously on Damian.

"It's all thanks to you, you know" Marinette smirked at Jason's confusion. Tim snickered as he seemed to catch on to what she was saying.

"Had you not organized that 'blindfolded game', I doubt we would be together at this moment" Damian supplied the information, clearly unfazed by the burning rage in the eyes of his older brother.

"Baby Bird's all grown up" The eldest Wayne son overdramatized wiping a fake tear, Batman sighed at his two eldest sons while pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Get your fucking hands off her, Demon Brat!" Jason tried to lunge at Damian, only to be stopped by both Dick and Tim. Though his fury only grew when Marinette snuggled closer to the green-eyed boy, both smirked in victory over Jason's horrified appearance.

Marinette was now part of the family in more ways than one. Though they wish they had found out in better circumstances, they would be able to take down Hawkmoth once and for all, side by side, all together. And to think this all happened because of a silly blindfold game.

#daminette #damian x marinette #maribat #maridami #marinette x damian #mlb x dc #ml x dc #big brother jason #this is eh I guess

[iloveitwhen]

how about tim and marinette jokingly planning world domination and then accidentally carrying it out (to the annoyance of the batfam)??

this was so fun to write and I hope it makes sense! Marinette and Tim are extremely delirious so it was hard to share their thoughts while also having it make sense to the readers... I hope you like it!

“Dick, stop lying! There’s no way we could have done that. There’s no way we “accidentally took over the world.” Do you really think the two of us could have taken out all seven JLA members?” 

“What day is it, Marinette?” Dick asks instead of answering her question. 

“Tuesday,” Tim answers for her. 

“And the number?”

“Nineteenth,” Marinette crosses her arms and looks at Dick impatiently. 

“It’s Saturday the 23rd,” he declares hotly. “Haven’t you been wondering why you’re so hungry this morning? The two of you have been sleeping for 32 hours and had been awake before that for almost an entire week with maybe an hour of sleep a day. But it’s ok! Because before you fell asleep we got you on camera admitting to everything that you’ve done and we have your notes, which you will have to decipher by the way because for some reason you thought it was a good idea to code everything in your notes and you are in so much trouble right now!” 

“Show us,” Marinette was now understandably a little concerned because she totally did have the weirdest dream last night. And was it really the 23rd?

Five minutes later Marinette is standing side by side with Tim watching a video on the bat computer of the two of them in the interrogation room while Dick is questioning them. 

Marinette’s head is resting on the table, clearly sleeping when Dick slams his hand on the table forcing her to snap her head up in alarm. 

“You are NOT going to sleep right now. The last time this happened you couldn���t remember a thing! Tell me everything and I’ll let you go to sleep.”

Tim who has already been sitting up but was still very much asleep and didn’t seem to be affected by Dick’s outburst snaps his eyes open. 

“How dare you!” he bellows causing Dick and Marinette to look at him in surprise, Marinette’s much more exaggerated than Dick’s, “We will never agree to these terms!”

There are a few moments of silence in the video and Tim makes a noise of embarrassment from the back of his throat while Marinette holds back laughter. 

“I wouldn’t laugh quite yet, Marinette,” Dick admonishes. 

“Wait I’m really tired though… ,” Marinette complains to Tim.

“Great!” Dick claps his hands together and turns his attention to Marinette, “after you tell me everything you can go to sleep.”

Marinette nods very seriously then takes a deep breath and shakes her shoulders as if she’s hyping herself up to start a race or lift some heavy weights. She looks at a point on the wall a few feet to the right of Dick’s head and begins speaking as if she is a narrator of a science documentary. 

Marinette cringes, some of the memories coming back to her like how she had believed she had one more mission, and that was to let the audience know the “trials and tribulations of their story” as she had so eloquently thought about it in her head. She watches as Video Marinette recounts their story remembering that she had believed it was a serious story and that the imaginary audience (that she wholeheartedly believed were watching) must understand this.  Her hand goes to her mouth in horror as she watches herself on the screen go silent and stare at the point behind Dick’s shoulder for several awkward minutes, several times throughout the video. She remembers she had been trying to portray the scene that was passing before her mind’s eye for the “audience” to see as well. Clearly it didn’t work. 

---

** italics indicate when Marinette is using her narrating voice and is staring into the “camera” 

** dashes indicate flashbacks

“It was an accident.” Marinette starts, “Really, truly an accident. You can’t blame two delirious teenagers with a combined two hours of sleep within 3 days and half a brain cell to share between them. Honestly you can’t judge them, it’s not their fault the Lustice Jeague- Justilea- Just- Justice. League. Fell for it. You just can’t. It’s not their fault the justice league-”

“Marinette.” Dick interrupts.

“Right. Did I already say that? Well, anyways, point is. Not their fault….” 

-------

Marinette pops her head suddenly and looks conspiratorially at Tim, “Hey.”

“Hmm,” not stopping his clacking away at his computer. 

“Did you know Superman’s biggest weakness is Lois Lane?”

Time grunts in response as if saying, “yeah, what about it?”

“Like, he would literally be incapable of doing anything if Lois Lane was in trouble, like if Lois Lane disappeared so would Superman.” 

“Yeah that’s crazy,” still clacking away at his computer. 

“And do you know what Batman’s biggest weakness is?” 

“Superman?” 

Marinette giggles, “that’s funny. No, his pants.” Tim’s finger’s still as he processes what Marinette just said. “Think about it. If batman has no pants then he would disappear as well. Do you really think Batman would show up anywhere if he had no pants?” A pause. “Batman must really love his pants,” Marinette adds thoughtfully.

Tim begins ferociously clacking away on his computer again. “This is amazing,” he whispers, “we can use this against them! Amazing,” he says, whispering the last word with, well, amazement. 

“I know, right? We could like… take over the world with this information or something.” 

Tim gasps, finally turning to Marinette sprawled on his bed, “we totally could!” Suddenly he looks around and lowers his voice as if sharing a secret, as if there was anyone else besides Marinette to hear anyway. Marinette sits up and leans in excitedly, “we totally could,” he repeats. 

Marinette nods her head enthusiastically, “and we can totally give it back afterwards. Like, it’s no big deal. Just to like, prove we could.” 

Tim’s eyes grow wide and he nods his head with child-like excitement, “let’s do it.” 

-------

“24 hours later, now with 7 hours of sleep between them in four days, Marinette and Tim had developed the most bestestest plan to ever grace the mise of anyone, it was-”

“Mise?” Dick interrupts again, trying to figure out what she was saying. 

Marinette scrunches her face up, “My- mizzzee- my- m- myyy-nnnd. Mind.” She finally corrects then turns her focus back to the imaginary camera, “of anyone who ever lived. It was spectacular.”

“This is horrific.”

“Exactly. So horrible that it worked miraculously. I say that totally seriously. Seriously. No, I am not a miraculous, ask Ladybug.” Marinette then switches demeanor shifts in her seat and asks: “Ladybug?” she shifts in her seat again to slightly face the opposite direction and answers herself, “Yes?” She shifts again. “Are you a miraculous?” Shifts. “No. I am not.” Marinette looks back into the imaginary camera, “See? She says Marinette is not Ladybug….” she trails off for a moment, her head slowly dropping indicating she was very close to falling asleep. 

“I can’t believe this is happening.” Marinette snaps her head back up.

“Oh but it has. Tim and Marinette had targeted every single weak point of every JMLA member, the Jumpstice League stood no chance against the duo. Tim crafted a device that tracked Lois Lane, gathering any and all data on her to mimic her, including her heartbeat and scent so that Superman would be properly duped. Setting the trap in his very own house-” she suddenly cuts herself off and looks between Tim and Dick, “by the way did you know? That man is like, super weak to Kryptonite. It would have been so much easier to know that in the beginning. And also that he has a cousin? She’s very pretty, right, Tim?” She turns to her boyfriend who is looking at her with a soft smile.

“Mmhm. You’re very pretty.” 

Marinette ignores him and continues, “So Tim and Marinette trapped him in a cage of kryptonite-”

“You did WHAT!?”

“-and he totally passed out, the two heroes are still a bit confused why he was making such a big deal about it.” Marinette pays no mind to Dick as he reaches out and shakes his hands like he wants to strangle her neck.  “Tim then crafted a signal miminicking a detest call-”

“Distress,” Dick corrects. 

“-distress call from Themyscira rendering Wonder Woman unavailable. Unfortunately for her and fortunately for us it was her birthday and since I’m good friends with Momma Wonder,” she abruptly turns to Dick and points a finger at him as if he was a five year old in trouble and adds: “that’s Queen Hipopotolia to you, Mister,” before turning back, “they threw her a total rager,” again changing her demeanor and rolls her eyes “which I’m missing right now by the way, so she’ll be gone for a few more days, those gals really know how to party…. 

“Then the Flash. He was easier than the two expected, they meanly- I mean merely, well, meanly too- slapped a speed force inhibitor around his wrists. He couldn’t tap into the speed force to vibrate through it, he couldn’t cut it off, he would definitely die including everyone else in a mile radius-” Marinette swivels her head to Dick and smacks the table,”-nuclear bombs are SUPER dangerous by the way, you really don’t want to mess with them. 

“He couldn't contact anyone, any electric device he came across was rendered useless due to Tim’s genius, once again. 

“You’re so smart, baby, they couldn't have done this without you,” she adds out of the blue looking at Tim with a proud smile 

“Mhmm. You’re so pretty,” he repeats while Dicks drops his head into his hands. 

“They knew the Flash had friends so they did what they had to and locked him in one of those big containers that you sometimes see on trains and sometimes see on big ships and is currently in the middle of the ocean. Also that inhibitor thingy works as a shock collar too so like screaming electrocutes him preeeetty bad.”

“If the JLA doesn’t kill the both of you, I will.”

“The Martian Manhunter, well, you know what they say, show, don’t tell…. Marinette looks deep into the “camera” willing it to see what she was seeing.

--------

“J’onn J'onzz.” The green alien turns around to find two young adults who looked uncharacteristically professional, hands clasped behind their straight backs and serious expressions.

“...Ladybug. Red Robin. What can I do for you?” J’onn places an alien piece of tech down to focus on the two of them. Unfortunately he could not read Ladybug’s mind when she was in the suit and Red Robin’s mind was a mess of noises and jumbled thoughts that made no sense whatsoever, except one that was a bit louder than the rest and was repeated like a mantra. 

Christmas eve, 1998. 

J’onn tensed, “What do you want,” he demanded more than asked, overly concerned about how and why that thought was in Red Robin’s mind. 

“Nothing. Exactly that. Nothing,” Ladybug responded. “We need you to leave, to go somewhere for a few days and to not resurface or interfere in any way, shape, or form. And in return we will delete anything and everything that ever existed on Christmas Eve of 1998. It’ll be like it never existed.” 

“I can’t do that.” 

Ladybug suddenly broke her composure and groaned. “Oh come oooon, We promise no one will get hurt!” she linked her hands together and gave the Martian a pout, “pleeaaseee?” 

“The last time you two were like this you “accidentally” created a multimillion dollar company solely based on cosplay.” Ladybug was not phased and Tim was still chanting Christmas Eve, 1998 in his head, the boy probably wasn’t even aware time had passed since he got there. J’onn sighed, whatever they were up to it probably wasn’t too big of a deal. “Fine. But I want proof everything is deleted.” 

“Yess, it’s a deal, big man. See you in a few days! C’mon Tim.” 

“Can I stop repeating that thing in my head now?”

------

“Marinette.”

She breaks and looks at Dick impatiently, “I’m telling a story right now, what do you want?”

“You’ve been staring at the wall for 5 minutes straight, where is Martian Manhunter?”

“Oh I don’t know, he should be back on Tuesday though,” she shrugs and nods at the same time but like a switch has been flipped she is serious again. “As for Aquaman? Well, he has his own problems in the undersea. As you know the detective of Justice is Batman, Aquaman? Not much of a detective at all. But, having a mystery that needed to be solved in the undersea would have to be done with the bat’s assistance. However, Batman had his own problems to mace. 

“Face?”

“Yes. A problem that he will never be able to solve without asking for little help of his own. Unfortunately for him, his pride and dignity was on the verge of devolution- devil- devolve… ded- destru- destruction! Also all communication to Alfred was severed and he was sent to the Bahamas to relax since Tim and Marinette promised that since Batman would not be able to be fight he would be safe.”

“Ohhh is that where he went? No wonder there was no breakfast this morning.” Tim drops his hand supporting his face and looks at Marinette in wonder. 

“Babe we went over this like one time, you should know this.”

“Oh, right, yeah… I still haven’t eaten.” Tim lays his head down on his arm sadly and promptly falls asleep. 

“And last, and definitely least, Green Lantern. Marinette, miraculoused in her all-black ninja suit- wait no- no miraculous involved, it was just black clothes,” Marinette trailed off and snorted. “I really just stole the Green Lanterns ring… It was uhhh, it was actually kind of easy….

“Marinette had slipped the ring from Hal’s hand and put it on her own, quickly and quietly slipping out the way she came but not before taking the battery thing that powers the ring and stealing every single cup in the house. The ring had then proved useful as it assisted in Marinette’s journey.”

“Wait. How?” 

Marinette shrugs as if it weren’t such a big deal when it definitely was. “I don’t know, it actually gave me a little speech about going to Goodwill and then told me I was a lantern. Wait, do you think someone would have bought me if I posed as a lantern…? Oh yeah! I totally had a green suit and everything, it was crazy. Look! I still have it,” she stuck her hand out to show Dick, the thick green ring almost making contact with his face as she practically jumped over the table to show him. “I don’t want to give it back to Hal though it’s like… a really cool ring,” she says sadly as she sits back down, not giving Dick an actual chance to look at the ring. 

“Ok. Ok.” Dick drags a hand through his hair in frustration. “What about batman? Where is he?”

Marinette shoots both of her hands up and points at the one way mirror behind Dick’s head, “Boom! Right behind ya in that there mirror.” Then she again turns to the imaginary camera to continue her saga.

“Batman. The easiest, yet most difficult. The smartest, yet most helpless. And though Marinette and Tim wish they could have said they did it alone, they desperately needed the help of a certain… seductress.” 

---

Selena Kyle leans a hip into the counter of a kitchen, quietly making tea when a dark red and black tangle of something falls through an open window and crashes onto the floor, bumping into the family dining table and rattling the vase of wilting flowers. Selena curses loudly and goes to flee but realizes what, or rather who the pile of dark red and is. It’s Red Robin and Ladybug, otherwise known as Tim Drake and Marinette Dupain-Cheng. 

The two groan loudly and clumsily untangle themselves and flop on the ground next to each other apparently too lazy to stand up at the moment. 

“Hey,” Ladybug says, moving her head to the side to look at the standing woman. 

“Hey,” Selena takes a sip of her tea and almost laughs when she realizes that Red Robin had either been knocked out or  had simply fallen asleep. 

Ladybug’s words are slurred together when she says, “we need your help,” while slowly blinking. Either she was on something, very drunk, or very sleep deprived. Knowing the two of them and considering Red Robin was fast asleep on the floor it was probably the sleep deprivation. 

Selena acts as though she’s considering it even though she would help regardless, whatever it was these two were planning she wanted in. 

“Only if you agree to owe me a favor.” 

Ladybug (who had closed her eyes for a moment) snapped her eyes open and grinned, quite evilly, “what we’re planning will be favor enough.” Then, as if the conversation had ended, rolled her head around taking her surroundings in, “this isn’t your house.” 

Selena chuckles, “no it’s not, but you found me here anyways.”

“Ohhhhh, right I forgot about that, do you know the person who owns this house?” Selena shakes her head and Marinette hums in response, wandering her eyes over the kitchen. “So what do you say about the pant situation?” 

“The what?”

------

“The mystery woman had easily fallen for the trap. With her help, Tim and Marinette had almost succeeded in world domination, all that was left was to carry out the plans….”

---

Dick pauses the video and turns to the two heroes who were blushing furiously and fidgeting, waiting until they could bolt. 

“I thought you were going to sit there for a few more minutes then start talking again but you just kept sitting there until I realized you had fallen asleep with your eyes open.” He huffed and started to type into the computer again. “You’re lucky none of the JLA members got hurt or that this-” he clicks a file “video did not get out to the world.”

Ladybug and Red Robin stand in a professional stance with hands clasped behind their backs, they were standing slightly off-center of the screen with an empty JLA table behind them.  

“Good evening, world. I am Ladybug.”

“And I am Red Robin.”

“We have single handedly disposed of the JLA.”

“They will no longer terrorize our world-”

“Burn down our cities-”

“Trample us underfoot-”

“Wait-” Ladybug breaks character and turns to Red Robin, “are we describing Godzilla?”

Red Robin furrows his brow for a moment before bursting out in laughter, grabbing onto Ladybug and dragging her down into hysterics as well. They fall to the floor out of view of the camera but their guffaws are still spilling over the speakers very loudly. 

Several minutes later they stand up, wiping their tear-streaked cheeks.

“Anyways,” Red Robin continues, a chuckle still present in his voice, “We totally have taken over the world and you!” he points into the camera.

“Are!” Ladybug repeats his movement.

“Under our control!” they chorus together, pointing their thumbs at themselves as if this were some sort of disney channel ad, some sort of joke and that they hadn’t just literally threatened world domination, hadn’t just succeeded in world domination. 

They held the pose for a moment before Red Robin relaxed, Ladybug held her pose and continued to look into the camera while Red Robin reached up and paused the video.

“Luckily,” Dick begins, “You streamed the video straight to your own computer and not to the entire world, and luckily, you left your computer open on the dining tables for Duke to see it and for the rest of us, minus Jason,” he adds hotly, “to fix your mess.” 

“At least you caught the perpetrator?” Marinette adds helpfully, her voice going up like a question and her face scrunched up hoping that the comment would placate Dick.

It did not. 

Bonus:

Dick has both Marinette and Tim sitting side by side in an interrogation room, Tim is smiling and staring at Marinette with hearts in his eyes and sighing happily every once in a while Marinette is staring intently at the wall a few feet to the right of Dick’s head and talking as if she were the narrator of the documentary of her Tim’s “adventure” of literally taking over the world. 

“This is insane.” Bruce Wayne whispers behind the one way glass with a towel wrapped around his waist, every single pair of pants he owned was still missing. And would continue to be missing until he admitted he needed help, the rest of the batfam had collectively agreed to not help him until he asked for help, much to Bruce’s chagrin. 

Bonus Bonus: 

The video is shaky but clear, it’s facing a dingy empty stage with a lone mic stand in the middle at what seems to be Karaoke night in an even dingier bar. The crowd is mostly quiet save for the buzz of conversation until the start of “Fantasy” by Mariah Carey starts and everyone cheers. The camera violently shakes and Hal Jordan’s voice booms through the speakers,

“Let’s go babyyyyy!!” 

A few moments later and J’onn J’onzz, in his human form, hops onto the stage clearly hammered and most definitely not in control of his actions. He dances awkwardly around the stage until the first lyrics on the screen behind him light up. 

“Oh when you walk by every night, talkin sweet and lookin fine, I get kinda hectic inside,” along with the words he points to someone in the crowd then puts the back of his hand to his forehead to indicate “swooning”. 

“Oh baby, I’m so into you,” he clumsily hops off the stage and staggers over to someone at one of the front tables. The video zoomed in for a bit and focuses on the woman who briefly looks around her table with a laugh and she raises her strong arms, welcoming the drunk martian. 

“Darling, if you only knew,” J’onn’s smile was so wide and he laughed into the mic instead of singing the next few lyrics. He forced Wonder Woman’s chair from the table with his telekinesis, and with an excessive amount of exaggeration he circled the chair, dragging his hand over her face. The other women, more Amazons by the looks of their arms, pounded the table howling in laughter. 

“But it’s just a sweet, sweet fantasy, baby, When I close my eyes, you come and take me,” he circles to her front and boops her nose as he sings “take me” before turning around and facing the stage. 

“On and on and on,” he looks back at Wonder Woman seductively and winks, “it’s so deep in my daydreams,” he hops back on the stage, “but it’s just a-” his foot gets tangled in the mic’s cords and his voice is cut off when he tries to save himself from smashing into the ground. 

He fails. 

Laughter erupts in the bar and the camera is slammed onto a table and Hal’s wheezing is heard above the others before the video cuts off.

phew *wipes brow* that was... actually a loooooottttt, but I hope it made you laugh and i really hope it wasn’t confusing to read! *smiles awkwardly and waves* byee....

#maribat #timinette #marinette and tim take over the world #marinette x tim #this was really really fun to write #i get my sleep deprivation ideas from personal experience #asks #my asks #its late and i need to sleep #but i keep adding tags #then forgetting what i needed tp tag #marinette and tim sleep deprived #that's not what i needed to tag but whatever

[dandelionflower]

She hikes alone

Marinette skipped to her friends, tapping Adrien on the shoulder before hugging him tight.

“Hey, Princess,” he gave her a smile that melted her heart, “we were just talking about things we could do on our free day.”

He gestured to the class, who were all deep in a debate over ice cream place or pizza parlor.

“I was thinking we could go to a park; a new friend of mine has a couple of places we could check out. I think it would be really good as a lazy activity to get rid of jet lag, or in Kim’s case, excess energy.”

“Sounds really nice!” He smiled and began to open his mouth to tell them; he had become Marinette’s representative to the class, when Lila stood up.

“Hey guys! What if, since today doesn’t have anything planned, we went to a park and hung out?”

“That’s a genius idea, Lila!”

“I could play frisbee!”

“I’d enjoy observing the local flora.”

That’s genius Lila. You’re so smart. Marinette growled under her breath, Lila obviously overheard her talking with Adrien and took credit for her idea.

“I actually know some parks we could go to, from when I visited with Jagged Stone a few months back. We could go to one of those, if you want?”

“That sounds great Lila!” Adrien cut in before Marinette could protest. “Let’s go now!”

“Don’t worry,” he whispered to her as the class cheered and stood up, “I’ll make sure we go to a nice park.”

That’s not what I’m worried about. Marinette thought as she watched Lila attach herself to Adrien’s arm.

She followed at a fair distance from the class; not by choice, her friends just seemed to speed up whenever she tried to walk near them.

“Marinette!” Grace tapped on her shoulder, a broad grin on her face. She was wearing the headband. “Where did you decide on going?”

“A park.”

“That’s great! Which one are you going to? Because if you haven’t decided, I have a ton of great places for you to go...” she plucked some pamphlets from her back pocket and displayed one. “I think this one would suit your needs best.”

“Thanks, Grace, but...” Marinette spared a glance at the pack of students, led by Lila and Adrien. “I think it’s already been decided.”

Grace’s expression soured. “Okay, but keep ahold of that pamphlet, will you? You might end up finding time to go.”

“I hope I do.” She waved Grace a quick goodbye and dashed back to her friends, who were already going through the door.

—

They hopped on a bus and Marinette smirked as Lila worried her lip, eyes darting towards every sign that could possibly lead her to a park.

As fun as that was, Marinette quickly got bored and began perusing the pamphlet Grace handed to her.

Quarry Stone Park

Known for its towering pillars of black stone, it is rumored that Quarry Stone Park was where the brick for the famed Culpa Manor was mined.

While the parks naming is rather obvious, it also contains many hidden paths, leading to waterfalls, gem-filled caves, and even the ocean.

A popular landmark of the park is Quarry Ledge, which overlooks the ocean. The natural black spires and stark white sands make for an amazing view.

That’s where we should be going, Marinette mused, not wherever Lila’s going to take us.

“Here we are!” Lila sang. “The best park in the whole town.”

Sure... Marinette glanced at the rotting wooden sign, the crumbling letters reading, Wooded Glade Park.

The class ran in, Alix already tossing a frisbee for Kim to catch. Adrien fell back and greeted Marinette with a silent smile and had just grabbed her hand when everyone fell silent and stared at the open field surrounded by borderline rotting trees.

“Uhh, Lila?” Ivan asked, shielding Mylene’s eyes from the mistreated plants. “Are you sure this is he place? It looks a little run down.”

“Definitely!” Lila protested, and though her back was facing Marinette, she could almost see the false tears welling up in her eyes. “I- I don’t know what happened; it used to be so beautiful... I’m so sorry everyone.”

“What if we helped you clean it up?” Rose offered. “Got rid of any trash and planted some flowers!”

“Yeah!” The class cheered, voicing their agreement.

“You- you would all do that for me?”

“Of course!”

“I can’t believe this! I... thank you!”

Mylene pulled Ivan’s hand from her eyes and glared at the offending trees. “Babe? I need a lift.”

Ivan picked her up and placed her onto his shoulders.

“Alright everybody!” She shouted, voice abnormally loud. “I need someone to carry heavy stuff, a couple people for trash and, Marinette! Can you organize our efforts?”

She smiled and was about to pull out her notebook, when Lila opened her mouth, which had proven to be a tragedy in itself.

“I don’t know guys, remember how late Marinette came in? She didn’t even get to have breakfast, we don’t want to tire her out what with the jet lag and all. I can just organize, you know I was an organizer to a famous charity.”

“That’s a great idea, Lila! I’ll help!” Adrien leaned over to whisper in Marinette’s ear. “Don’t worry, I can keep her out of trouble while you just relax and walk down one of the trails, it’s a win-win.”

But I want to walk the trails with you...

She smiled, gave him a kiss on the cheek and walked to the closest trail as fast as she could so Adrien couldn’t see the tears collecting in her eyes.

She loved how selfless Adrien was, she did. It was just... he never seemed to choose her.

She stood there for a moment and allowed herself to cry. This was supposed to be a fun trip where she could hang out with her boyfriend and friends as they all explored her favorite place in the world.

Marinette finally looked up and observed the signs marking the different paths she could take.

Daisy Walkway.

Riverside.

Quarry Stone Path.

Quarry Stone?

Marinette pulled out her pamphlet and compared the names.

Maybe I will get to see Quarry Stone after all.

—

It was a fair hike to Quarry Stone, but it was so worth it.

The trees were lush and green, every bench and table were in perfect condition, people were everywhere, and interspersed across the field were dozens of giant black pillars of rock.

Marinette gave a glance to the other trails.

Waterfalls, meadows, beachside.... there were so many choices.

“Excuse me, sir?” She touched the arm of a nearby elderly man, who was exiting one of the trails. “I was wondering, do you know these trails well? Could you maybe recommend one to me?”

“Never been to Quarry Stone, have you dear?” He gave her a friendly smile.

“No.”

“Well, when I was young and adventurous, I would go on the Nymph’s River path. On a sunny day like this, it’s sure to be a magical sight.”

“It’s cloudy, you old coot!”

A frail old woman in a worn pink dress stumbled from the same path.

“What?” The man put on a thick pair of spectacles and squinted at the sky. “So it is.”

“I’m Henry’s wife, Meredith, and what’s your name, sweetie?”

“I’m Marinette. It’s nice to meet you.” She grinned at the familiar banter that reminded her of her parents.

“Likewise, dear.” A bony hand grasped her own. “Now, what’s a little thing like you doing out here all alone?”

“Um, my class, we’re here on a field trip and we had… a disagreement on what to do.”

“Ah, and they let you do your thing but it’s not as fun alone, is it?”

“No, not really.”

“I’ve got just the place for you dear. Henry, what about...” she leaned in to whisper in his ear.

“You’re a genius, Mere. Kiddo, just go down that path,” he pointed her to the forest, “and I promise it will be a sight worth seeing.”

“Okay, thank you both so much!” She waved to the couple as she headed down the path, memorizing their faces in case they encounter one another again.

—

It truly was a sight worth seeing, as promised.

When Marinette finally broke out of the dark greens in the surrounding the trail, she was met by the most soothing sight she’d ever laid eyes on.

She was standing on a large ledge carved out of the hill; metal posts and railings were surrounding the platform. Nothing noteworthy.

But the sight it was there to show was unimaginably perfect. The sand was a pure white, which would have been blinding if it wasn’t for the clouds covering the sun. The stone spires that decorated the entire forest were dotting the beach in all their splendor, rising proudly and casting barely noticeable shadows across the sand and the pale, rolling waves.

She leaned on the railing; taking in the soothing spectacle. It was almost like she was falling asleep, her consciousness drifting until she had no other thought but the muted colors in front of her...

“Meow?”

Marinette screamed and leapt away from the sound, pushing her back against the railing and gripping it with both hands likes she was on a crashing elevator.

A black cat with startling blue eyes stared at her, tilting its head in a quizzical motion.

“Mrrrrrr.” Was its only reaction to her panic.

“He- hello?”

It stared at her waved hand, like it was the most interesting thing it had seen.

She held it out tentatively, in an open gesture, leaving enough space for it to leave.

It stared at it for a moment longer before tentatively leaning forwards to place its head in her palm. It purred as she scritched its chin.

“What’s your name, kitty?” She mused. “Garfield? Like the Culpa that started the mansion?”

It leaned its head into her pinky in a silent gesture to go on.

“Harriet? Darrian? Abigail?”

No cigar.

“What about Culpa?”

The cat purred and nuzzled her hand with a vigor.

“Culpa it is.” She brought her other hand to pet at the newly-christened Culpa’s ear.

Culpa mewled with a satisfaction that seemed... almost human on the face of the pitch cat.

—

The rest

@miraculous-of-salt @calliopeia @drama-queen-supreme @kaydenth3gayden @mcheang @nomiegnome @never-say-donuts @vixen-uchiha @miracul0us-multishipper @hauntedfreakdeputyhero @chocolatecustarddanish @iwantswifttoblessmysoul @digitalmagpie @ilseofskadi @nerdy-and-a-little-birdy @minty-goose @nataladriana9 @aestheticnpoetic @constellation-king @animegirlweeb @persephonebutkore @ahalloweengirl @r0sebutch @marinettepotterandplagg @beelzzebop @akalovelymaybe @pleasefollowmeuwu @angelost4r @constancetruggle @speaknowtome @some-oxymoron @nerdy-scifi-birdy @toodaloo-kangaroo @purplesundaze @aestheticnpoetic @neptuningkai @2confused-2doanything

#felinette #ml felix #felix culpa #marinette dupain cheng #adrien agreste #ml marinette #ml adrien #lila salt #class salt #adrien salt #ml lila #lila rossi #haunted mansion au #adrienette #ml class #ml alya #guess who this cat is...

[alyasgf]

Everything Is Gonna Be Okay

mlb fic master list || part 2

Summary- Adrien has known Ladybug’s identity since kwamibuster, but she worked so hard who was he to ruin it?

Or alternatively kwamibuster but Adrien isn’t fooled, realizes who Ladybug is but doesn’t say anything. He helps her by becoming her close friend. He may have also accidentally fallen in love with her. Oops? Ft. Ladynoir, Adrinette, and Marichat (mostly Adrinette )

Notes- Getting to all the prompts I have building up that I haven’t had time for so enjoy! I might come back to this for another chapter with Ladrien and possibly a full reveal we’ll see.

Word Count- 1660

AO3

Begin

Adrien knew it was Marinette. Common sense was that if she had all the miraculous on, she’d probably have the fox. She would’ve gotten away with it, but Chat Noir could clearly the difference. After the Volpina scandal he’d noticed how flat the illusions could look, so when the tiny Multimouse seemed just a bit lackluster, he simply connected the dots.

Still, she’d put so much effort into the whole thing, so who was he to ruin it for her? He’d simply play along.

Ever since he found out Ladybug’s identity, he tried to get closer to Marinette, but she always seemed to be uncomfortable around Adrien. It disappointed him, but he understood. Adrien came with high expectations, while Chat Noir was free of these standards.

He’d visit Marinette as Chat Noir every chance he got. At first, he was worried Ladybug might reprimand him, but Marinette seemed to enjoy the company.

Unlike Ladybug, sometimes Marinette would entertain Chat’s antics (probably because they weren’t in the middle of battling an akuma.)

They’d play video games, watch anime on her terrace, and eat goodies he wasn’t allowed at home. He considered her his best friend, in and out of the suit.

Unfortunately, he let this slip while hanging out with Alya, Nino and Marinette.

“Surely your friend Marinette will help you with the notes you missed.” Alya said, raising her eyebrows and directing a look towards Marinette.

“You mean best friend Marinette.” Adrien replied lightheartedly.

Marinette turned bright red, while Nino gasped in offense.

“Well who am I then? I thought you and I were closer!” Nino pouted.

“I- uh,” Adrien was at a loss, before deciding to play it off. “I can have more than one best friend Nino don’t get too jealous.” He laughed.

Marinette was still red as she handed Adrien her notes to take a picture of. They were all in the park after school, as they did sometimes when Adrien’s schedule would allow it.

Alya whispered something into Marinette’s ear that made her blush harder. Adrien couldn’t help but notice how cute she looked. He couldn’t believe the girl that threw herself at akumas with no fear could hardly look him in the eye without stuttering. He couldn’t help but tease her.

“Everything ok Marinette?” He leaned closer and put his hand on her forehead. She froze and looked up, cross eyed at his hand. “You look like you’re heating up.”

She practically fell backwards trying to scoot away from his hand. “Yeah yeah! You feel great.” She said in a daze. “I mean I feel great!”

Adrien let out a laugh, and everyone joined in. Marinette even seemed to giggle a little. Adrien took that as a win.

————————————

He kept up this rouse for months, visiting her at nights after patrols or whenever he missed her. As he did this, he began to fall in love with her as Marinette. It wasn’t all at once though. At first when he’d discovered her identity he had trouble seeing the two as one person. But as he spent more time with Marinette he could see all of Ladybug’s characteristics in her, and in turn, Marinette characteristics in Ladybug.

Anytime Ladybug would doubt her plans, she’d get the same face Marinette would make when she proposed something to Adrien. The determination Marinette had when it came to her friends was the same attitude Ladybug had toward all Parisians.

And with that Adrien was hopelessly in love with her. Still, there was Luka.

She mentioned there was an other guy as Ladybug, and before he knew who she was he assumed she and Luka already had a thing. Before, he could accept this, but after knowing everything it hurt a little more.

He put this all aside though, because Marinette was his friend and partner first (and romantic interest second.)

But as he got lost in her eyes one night while talking and sharing snacks he had to ask, had to hope maybe he was wrong.

“So I hear a certain boy has caught your heart Marinette, care to share?” He asked casually, looking away after a particularly vulnerable moment.

“Yeah he has.” Marinette said with a sigh as she started off into the distance, lovestruck.

Adrien couldn’t help but feel disappointed. “What’s he like?”

“God Chat, he’s just perfect. He cares so much about everyone, and despite everything the world had thrown at him, he’s still so kind.” Marinette gushed.

Adrien had heard about how Luka’s father had abandoned him and Juleka when they were younger. He knew how it felt to feel like there was a piece of your family missing, but not ever knowing them must be unbearable. He could tell Marinette thought the world of Luka.

“How do you feel about Ladybug?” Marinette ventured.

Adrien laughed, knowing who she was, it was funny when Marinette asked about herself. She did it often, as though she couldn’t believe anyone could think so highly of her.

“Well, what can I say that isn’t already obvious? She’s determined, kind, funny, and a bit of a klutz.”

Marinette pouted. “No one calls Ladybug a klutz.”

“Well no one else spends as much time with her as I do. At least in costume anyway.”

Marinette begrudgingly agreed.

“Although she could entertain my amazing puns.” Chat teased.

Marinette laughed. “In your dreams kitty.”

If Chat hadn’t already known she was Ladybug, the way she delivered that line would’ve gave it away. There was a certain fondness to it that only his partner could use with him.

————————————

At some point after Marinette became the guardian, something changed.

They communicated if he could come over by her leaving out a cup of milk or her sitting outside around 9. Lately that came less and less.

Ladybug started to miss more and more patrols. She said she was busy, and with the way Marinette no longer had time to hang out with her friends he could tell that was true.

He tried to distract himself and change targets, but that blew up in his face. Kagami was starting to believe his excuses less and less. It was no suprise when she broke off whatever they had.

What was surprising however, was when he heard from Nino, who heard from Alya, who heard from Juleka, that Marinette and Luka had broken up.

She was always tired, and this was evident through her red eyes with dark bags beneath them. Adrien felt so helpless. He wasn’t sure how he could help without telling her what he knew.

He started with little things, like giving her notes she missed without her asking, letting her know it was really okay if she had to miss a patrol here and there, and leaving her little treats on her terrace to find whenever she went up.

One night as he passed by her room to leave a gift, he found the trapdoor cracked open and could hear her crying in her bed. He could hear the kwamis trying to comfort her, but it wasn’t working.

He made a show of dropping down so she’d have time to hide the kwamis before he knocked on the edge of the open trapdoor.

“You ok Marinette?”

When she lifted the trapdoor fully open a minute later he could tell she had tried to make herself look better. Her eyes looked freshly wiped and she had a forced smile on her face.

“Hey Chat. I’m fine just a little busy. Sorry we haven’t hung out in a while.”

Chat could still hear the sobs in his head that had been coming from her not even 5 minutes ago.

He threw his arms around her and she pulled herself into the ledge before crumbling into him.

She sobbed so hard, he was worried she’d break.

They stayed like that for at least half an hour. Chat rubbed her back and whispered affirmations into her ear.

“Shhh, it’ll be okay. You’re okay. You’re doing great.”

He didn’t know how she hadn’t been akumatized, but with him there, there was no way he’d let that happen.

When she finally calmed down, she pulled from him to look him in the eyes.

Her eyes were puffy and red from crying, there was a bit of snot coming from her nose. Still, she looked beautiful in the moonlight.

“I’m sorry Chat. Sometimes it’s just too hard to hold it in.” She said with a hiccup.

Chat pulled her back in. “Everyone needs to let it out every once in a while Marinette. There’s nothing to be sorry for, I’m just glad you chose me to be here for you. Do you wanna talk about it?”

Marinette shook her head. Chat sighed. He wouldn’t push her to say anything, no matter how much he wished she’d tell him.

“What can I do?” He asked.

“Stay with me until I fall asleep?” She whispered into his shoulder.

Chat nodded and she got up and climbed into her bed. Chat followed and left the trapdoor open.

There he laid, her head on his chest until her breathing evened out. He really didn’t want to leave. She was so warm and vulnerable. He was so in love with her.

But he knew he couldn’t stay, so ever so reluctantly, he lifted her from him softly and he left.

————————————

The next day when he saw her, he could see for the first time in what felt like forever she looked like she got some rest.

He ran up to her and hugged her tightly. She stiffened before relaxing into his touch.

“Marinette, I know if I ask you’re gonna tell me you’re okay, but I want you to know I can tell you aren’t. I’m here for you. We’re all here for you. Please don’t push us away.” He said into her hair. It smelled like strawberries and sweets, like always. It was comforting.

“O-okay.” She stuttered out. “Thank you Adrien.” She said softly. He felt her hold on a little tighter.

End Notes- Feel free to send in prompts! Also I wanna write more reveals where only one of them knows so look out for that. Reply your favorite part and leave a like and reblog if you liked this it makes my day ;)

#ml marinette #miraculous lb #mlb marinette #miraculous marinette #adrien and marinette #mlb #miraculous adrien #adrien x marinette #miraculous ladybug #marichat #marinette #marinette cheng #marinette dupain cheng #miraculous #miraculous les aventures de ladybug et chat noir #miraculous fanworks #miraculous season 4 #miraculous fic #adrinette fanfic #adrienette fic #adrienette #ml adrien #adrinette #adrien agreste #the tales of ladybug and cat noir #ladynior #ladybug and chat noir #tales of ladybug and cat noir #cat noir #chat noir

[kitty0boy]

I’m baaaack. I saw the is idea for this on Tiktok where basically Marinette saves Chat Noir she’s on top like when Chat saves Ladybug and he can’t function, so she smirks and flicks his bell. It’s a little spicier than the stuff I usually write so be warned! As always they are aged up so Marinette is 17, Adrien is 18. And much like some of my other fics, Chat can use multiple Cataclysms while Ladybug has to run off and recharge. Again, the content is kinda spicy so I’m going to say 14+ for this one. So enjoy!

———————————

You’ll never guess who was akumatized again. That’s right, Lila, why? Because she was caught lying this time.

Marinette was exhausted, being the new guardian and all. She slept through half of first period, dozed off in Ms. Mendeleev’s class twice, and nearly face-planted on the staircase outside the school. Needless to say, everyone was worried about her, especially Adrien. He felt he was partly responsible after all. His late night visits with her seemed to have taken their toll. Maybe he should stick to UMS tournaments on the weekend and Fridays.

Not everyone was worried though (somehow), one of those people being Lila. Over the years she’d become more and more set on gaining the attention of everyone in a 2 mile radius. While she usually only bragged about her “charity work”, the opportunity to slander Marinette wouldn’t go unused.

“I’m so worried about our poor Marinette.” She cooed, “Ever since she downloaded that app, oh it’s only gotten worse.” The class stared at her puzzled. In mock surprise, she covered her mouth, “Whoops! Oh I’m such a blabber mouth.” Adrien couldn’t see her lips, but he was sure they were curled into a nasty smirk. “Wait what? What app?” Alya piped up. “Oh she didn’t tell you? She’s a sugar baby. She’s been on Tinder getting money from older men. How do you think she pays for her supplies.”

He’d had enough, “Seriously Lila, if you’re going to spread rumours about people at least make sure they’re true. You don’t even hang out with Marinette, how would you know that before me or Alya?” She pulled out her best sad smile. “Oh Adrien, she confided in me because she was too scared of what you would think.” Alya cut her off, “No Adrien’s right, Marinette doesn’t like you Lila. I’m sorry but it’s true. There’s no way she’d tell you something like that.” Adrien put his hands in his pockets in triumph, but not before Lila got her phone out and held it up, showing Marinette’s supposed profile on Tinder. There was a picture of her face right on the profile. “I managed to hack into her account last night. Just look at all these creepy old men she’s matched with.” She scrolled through the list of men, most of them looked to be in their late 40s. Anger bubbled inside him.

“Seriously Lila! She’s still underage, don’t make a fake profile of her on Tinder. Now all of these old men know what she looks like. What would happen if they tracked her down. I swear to god if she’s ever hurt because right this I’ll-” He was ready to strike when a hand touched his back and a head fell against his shoulder. “What’s going on?” Marinette asked, she rubbed her eyes. “Girl let me see your phone.” Alya demanded. Marinette slumped over to her before placing her phone in the bestie’s hand. She walked behind Alya and wrapped her arms around her shoulders from behind.

Adrien, or rather, Chat Noir was no stranger to Marinette’s sleepy cuddling tendencies. He remembered many nights that involved her wrapping around him while blinking back sleep. Whether it was watching movies, playing video games, or even sketching. She somehow always found a way to cuddle up to him. Not that he was complaining, it was the best way to get her to sleep after all. She’d lean on him and he’d wrap around her, start purring, and play with her hair while she drifted off. He of course was adapted to running on less than 5 hours of sleep anyways, besides, hearing the sleepy sounds she’d make were always worth it. So seeing her cuddle up to Alya did make him a little jealous yes, was he going to say anything, probably not. He’d probably suggest a movie marathon that night to get his fair share in.

He watched while Alya scrolled though Marinette’s phone. Marinette subconsciously nuzzling into the crook of her friend’s neck. “Take a look everyone. Do you see the app for Tinder anywhere on my girl’s phone?” The class stared at it. “I don’t see it.” Rose squeaked. “Well obviously not, Marinette picks up shifts at the bakery sometimes to pay for all that stuff.” Alix shouted while walking towards them. She wasn’t there when Lila was talking about it. Adrien looked at her confused. “How did you know what she-?” She cut him off, “Nathaniel told me.” He looked at him and Nathaniel’s face turned as red as his hair. “He wanted to say something but he’s still really shy.” Alix whispered to Adrien. Adrien turned back to see his friends crowding around the bench where Lila sat, all of them were scowling at her. One by one they started voicing their disapproval. “Don’t spread rumours about our friend.” “Seriously Lila, not cool.” Lila got up from the bench and calmly walked towards the exit with her belongings in hand. It was the end of the day anyways.

He saw Marinette stumbling towards the locker room to pick up her backpack, Alya guiding her with an arm wrapped around her shoulder. “Maybe your purrincess could use a lift home.” Plagg suggested from his pocket. “Hey you’re right, maybe then Lila wouldn’t be able to start more rumours about her. Everyone would know why she’s been up late.” He considered the idea. “But what about Hawkmoth? I don’t want him to target her.” Plagg tried to fly up to his eye level but Adrien quickly slapped the kwami back into his jacket. “Ow hey what was that for?” Plagg yelled, “I’m in the middle of the school foyer, I’m already getting weird looks for slapping myself so don’t make it any worse.” That earned a little pinch from his friend “A little pay back, now if you don’t transform and pick up your sleeping beauty I’ll carry her back home myself. I don’t trust that girl to walk across the street by herself.” Adrien smiled, “Aww does the cheese monster have a soft spot for my purrincess, I thought there was only room for camembert in your heart.” Plagg rolled his eyes, “Yeah well if I can make room for you, then I can make room for pigtails. Now go and transform before you miss your chance.” He flew back into Adrien’s pocket. Touched by his kwami’s speech, Adrien walked towards the exit and sprinted around the corner. Luckily he had fencing practice today so his bodyguard wouldn’t be waiting for him.

He ducked into an alleyway and transformed after making sure he wasn’t followed, Chat Noir emerging from where Adrien was seconds ago. He ran back towards François DuPont to meet his little mouse at the front. As she emerged covering a yawn, Alya spotted him. Immediately she whipped out her phone and ran towards him, leaving Marinette behind. “Chat Noir! What are you doing here? Out for an afternoon patrol?” She held up her camera to record him. “Actually I’m here to pick up a certain little lady. I’ve been keeping her up at night and word has it she’s dead tired.” Alya blinked before turning towards her friend and looking back at him with wide eyes. He nodded and looked back up only to see Marinette trip over her feet. He rushed over and caught her around the waist in a hug before she could smash her face into the pavement. “Well hello there Mari, fancy seeing you here.” She looked up at him and smiled before stretching her arms up and wrapping them around his neck. “Hey kitty.” She murmured before resting her face on his chest. He sighed and bent down a little to sweep her up, he gently repositioned her into a hip carry with his other hand wrapping under one of her thighs. She immediately snuggled into him, her head resting on his shoulder. Alya stood there, her mouth agape. “Hey uh, would you mind grabbing her bag for me miss Ladyblogger?” He asked, nodding at it. She snapped out of it and picked it up off the steps where it had fallen. She passed it to Chat who slung it over his free shoulder and started heading towards Tom and Sabine’s bakery, with a certain fox tailing him.

The three, well the two of them walked while Marinette was peacefully carried by Chat Noir. Alya chuckled “Are you, purring?” He blushed a little before giggling back, “Yeah I am, I usually do it when she’s really tired, it puts her to sleep really quickly.” She smirked at him, “So this is a regular occurrence?” He stammered “I well uh yes for a while, not every night but umm.” He blushed and looked down at her. “If only I knew Marinette was sleeping with one of Paris’ superheroes.” She said slyly, she was definitely fit for the fox miraculous. He turned away from the journalist, he didn’t want to see him blush. His cheek bumped into Marinette’s forehead before resting against it. “It’s not in the way you’re thinking, we usually play video games or watch movies, most of the time she gets really tired and ends up falling asleep on me so I put her to bed.” He looked back at her and she was not convinced. “You mean she gets tired so you cuddle her and purr while she falls asleep then you sneak out the window.” He pouted, “You make me sound like a creepy, and it’s actually the trapdoor to the balcony, I can’t climb through the window without diving through it.” She grinned at him and he rolled his eyes. “Not much better is.. hey what’s that?” He turned to see a figure glaring at them from on top of the school, he didn’t get to look at them for very long before something fast and sharp came barreling towards them.

He didn’t even have time to grab Alya, he only had time to shove her out of the way with his foot before jumping backwards with Marinette pulled tight to him. He stumbled a little, crashing to the ground with a very much awake Marinette landing safely on top of him. She propped herself onto her hands just enough to separate her face from his. “Chat? What’s going on?” A loud cackle was heard behind them and she leapt to her feet, he followed suit and pulled Marinette behind him, making sure she was as separated from the akuma as possible. “My name is Seamstress, with my needle and thread I’ll make sure none of you can ever speak against me.” Seamstress turned to Alya, she pinched her fingers together and make a jabbing motion towards her. Alya’s mouth shut and she covered it with her hand. It looked like she was in pain, then Seamstress pulled her hand back and Alya cried out, but her scream was muffled. She pulled back her hand to reveal that her lips were sewn shut. Marinette tried to run towards her friend but Chat wrapped his arms around her before she could go anywhere. “Alya No!” She screamed, her face full of tears. “I’m really sorry Marinette.” He said before grabbing his baton and vaulting them away from the akuma and Alya.

Marinette held tight to Chat’s neck, despite the sobs that shook her violently. He needed to get her away but he wanted her to breathe. He looked behind him, Seamstress was nowhere in sight, so he jumped into an alleyway and sat down, Marinette sitting in his lap. He sat crisscross so that she could sit more comfortably, she still wasn’t breathing right.

“Marinette I need you to breathe for me ok? I know it’s going to be hard but I have to get you somewhere safe, and I can’t do that if you can’t breathe. Here.” He reached behind him and pulled one of her hands off him and placed it on his chest. “Ok can you feel me breathing?” She nodded against his shoulder. “Ok good, now try to match my breathing ok?” He felt her panting against him as she tried to fix her breathing. It took a few minutes but soon enough her sobs turned into little whimpers of sadness. “Feel better?” He asked and she nodded. She was always quiet like this when she was upset, seeing her friends hurt wouldn’t be something she got over easily. She pulled back to look at him before another tear slipped down her cheek. He quickly reached up and brushed it away, “Ok now we’ve got to-“ An explosion rang out in the street near them, he gently pushed her off of him. “Stay here ok, I’ll come and get you after.”

He ran out from the alley only to come face to face with Seamstress. “Hello kitty, where have you hidden miss goody two-shoes hmm?” She asked, she looked like she’d gone insane, her face twisted into something between and grin and fury. Her face darted from left to right, looking for his princess. Luckily, the dumpster they landed beside blocked Marinette from view. “Like hell I’d tell you.” He turned his baton and extended it towards her, putting as much distance between him and the akuma as he could. “Well if I can’t get you to talk, maybe I should just shut you up!” Her hand thrusted towards him and he saw a needle, he dodged it and her hand snapped open, a drop of blood running down her finger. So if she misses a stitch she’ll prick herself. Good to know.

He dodged needle after needle until he got distracted and stumbled. He fell to the ground and braced for the pain to come to his lips, but it never did. Instead something small crashed into him and they rolled across the road, hitting the curb. He looked up to see Marinette on her hands and knees above him. Her lips were still swollen from crying but in that moment, he couldn’t help but notice how beautiful he was. ‘Geez Adrien great timing.’ He could almost hear Plagg cackling in his head. He just stared at her, mouth agape, then she did something he would never recover from. She smirked, and oh god did he want to kiss her. “What cat got your tongue?” She said before flicking his bell. She stood and pulled him up. He quickly snapped out of it and scooped her up before dashing down the street, the akuma not far behind, he drifted around a corner and silently sprinted down an alley before extending his baton and racing across the rooftops in the opposite direction, successfully leading the akuma in the wrong direction. He brought her to the first place he could think of, the Louvre. He leapt off one of the buildings to the side, summoned a cataclysm to break a glass panel, and landed on the floor inside with Marinette clutched safely in his arms.

“Wasn’t there an easier way to get in here?” She said, a teasing tone to her voice. He wish he wanted to laugh but he didn’t. He was mad, furious even. He told her to stay hidden, out of sight. He told her to wait in the alley for him but she didn’t. “Didn’t I tell you to stay put?” He asked angrily. Hundreds of emotions swam through him, part of him wanted to lecture her for hours, part of him wanted to hug her and make sure she was ok, part of him wanted to kiss her stupid because mon dieu she was beautiful with her hair down like that. He settled for a simple “Stay here this time, I’ll come get you.” Before turning and vaulting towards the akuma.

Ladybug was a little late to the fight but they got it over with fairly quickly. He destroyed the bracelet the akuma was in and Ladybug captured it and fixed everything. “Would you mind taking her back this time? I’ve gotta run.” Ladybug asked and he nodded. Some of his anger had faded but he wasn’t exactly in a good mood right now. She waved goodbye before hurrying off. “So,” he started turning to Lila, “I hope you won’t be spreading anymore false rumours about people now, especially Marinette.” He growled a little and miss liar shrank under his gaze. She nodded before standing and walking away.

He needed to calm down, Marinette was probably scared and hurt and confused, he didn’t exactly leave her on the best note. By the time he arrived at the Louvre it was closed for cleaning. He slipped inside to grab her but noticed that she was standing by the door. “They umm, kicked me out when it closed.” She said shyly. His brows furrowed.

She looked at him confused before he opened his mouth to speak. “I told you to stay hidden and you didn’t listen. Why?” She frowned, “Don’t you mean ‘thank you Marinette’?” She folded her arms in front of her chest. “Uh no I mean why did you run out from your hiding place, I’m the superhero remember, you can’t go running into the middle of an akuma battle. You don’t have superpowers or a magic suit to protect you.” She walked up to him and pushed her finger into his chest, “You were more important when it came to defeating Seamstress, who cares if my mouth is sewn shut because yours will still work. You needed to be safe more than I did so I saved you.” He clenched his fists, “My job is to protect you“ she cut him off “No your job is to help Ladybug save the akumatized person.” He started speaking, “No, my job is to make sure no one gets hurt, I have to keep everyone safe.” She crossed her arms again, “Once Ladybug’s cure fixed everything I would have been fine.” He stood straight, “Well I wouldn’t be, I wouldn’t be able to function knowing you got hurt because I couldn’t protect you.” She grabbed his shoulders, “And how do you think I feel huh? Seeing you die over and over again! So fuck me if I wanted to save you one time! I can’t keep watching you sacrifice yourself over and over again.” Her voice broke, “And what? You think I would be able to keep fighting if I knew you weren’t safe, I don’t think I could live with myself if Anything happened to you.” He wasn’t yelling anymore but he was still angry with her. She was close to crying again she was so angry.

“For heaven sakes you stupid cat!” She blurted before grabbing his bell and pulling him down to her. He saw her eyes close before their lips met. He closed his eyes and kissed her back, it wasn’t a slow gentle kiss either, it was a desperate, passion filled kiss that made him feel like he was struck by lightning. Her hands tangled in his hair and his arms wrapped around her waist. He couldn’t tell if this was heaven or hell, he felt like he was dancing on cloud nine while her lips burned against his neck. She pulled down his bell zipper slightly and he groaned as she left marks on his collar bone. He grabbed her face and pulled her back up to him, gently biting her bottom lip when she smirked.

He heard a whistling noise somewhere behind Marinette but it barely registered and he lifted her up to get her closer to him. She pulled back and he started leaving marks on her identical to the ones she left on him. “Um Chat.” She whimpered and he wanted to hear her say his name again. “Chat.” She said a little louder, “Hey!” She squeaked and he stopped, looking up at her. Her face was bright red and her eyes were wide. “What?” He asked, lowering her to the ground. He quirked an eyebrow at her before looking above her head. It was Alya and Alix, standing there, watching him make out with their best friend. “Uh, hi.” He said awkwardly, rubbing his neck. “Well hi there.” Alix chuckled. Oh no, he was about to die right? “We’ll leave you two to your, umm, whatever that was but make sure you have her home by 9 young man, you understand me?” Geez she sounded like Mr. Dupain. “Yes ma’am.” He chuckled, wishing he could curl up into a ball and hide. The pair walked off, laughing and whispering together.

He felt something heavy crash into his chest, “Oh, mon dieu I’m a goner.” Marinette groaned. He laughed nervously before hugging her and ruffling her hair. She looked up at him, “You’re still an idiot you know.” He laughed for real this time, “And you’re still beautiful.” Her face turned pink and she put her head against his chest again. He sighed and started purring. “I’m sorry I yelled at you, I was just so worried. Like I said, I don’t think I could function if I found out something happened to you.” She wrapped her arms around him and raised herself up to rest her head in the crook of his neck. “I’m sorry too, I’ll try to stay out of trouble.” He smiled, “You’d better, or I’ll go full Weredad and lock you away.” She giggled, “I think you mean Werecat.” He joined her and they laughed together, wrapped in each other’s embrace. “So, how about a movie night tonight?” He asked. “Why don’t we just cuddle until I fall asleep, that’s basically what we do anyways.” He wagged his tail excitedly, “Do you still have the pillow fort set up from last time?” She giggled again, “Yes I do, now let’s go home kitty, it’s cold out here.” Oh right, she didn’t have a jacket on. He quickly scooped her up and they headed off.

That night he got more than his fair share of cuddles, he even stayed for a sleepover. Thank goodness it was Friday.

————————————

Thank you for reading. It’s a bit spicier than the stuff I usually write but I think I did ok.

#marichat #miraculous lady tales of ladybug and cat noir #miraculous ladybug #miraculous Marinette #miraculous adrien #chat noir #cat noir #slight angst

[ashbrea381writings]

Red-Eye to Destiny: Chapter 2, The Gala

Mari and Luka texted Damian as soon as they made it back to the house just outside of town. Upon receiving the return message, they promptly fell into bed and slept soundly until late into the morning. Lazily getting dressed for the day, the pair started unpacking their clothes, setting up for laundry and airing out coats that didn’t need washing but definitely needed some care. Going into her design studio, Mari checked on her dress that she’d completed before they left for the last few concerts before their holiday break. “Luka, why does your dad want us to go to this thing again?” Mari sighed, hanging the dress up to check for any last-second alterations she might want to make.

“It’s good networking. He’s hung out with the organizers a bunch and wanted us to meet them, plus tons of people are gonna be there. He said that one of the organizers has a bunch of sons who usually cause some scene or another so it’s usually pretty funny.” Luka walked into the room and rested his chin on top of her head. “Besides, it’ll be a chance to show off your skills to some people who might want to commission something.” “I suppose.” Mari leaned back into Luka for a moment before pulling away to pull out his suit. Mari had made Luka a custom Leather Tuxedo jacket with teal trim on the cuffs and lapels, a matching teal lining and a few silver studs on the collar. His pants were simple charcoal grey with teal lining on the pockets, and subtle teal stitchwork around the cuffs and waistband. His shirt was simple black with a teal pocket square and everything. “I’m still so impressed by you, Melody.” Luka sighed, pouring love into every word through their bond. Mari just giggled in response and ran her fingers over the seams in both his suit and her dress. The dress itself was a strapless, deep burgundy dress with black cherry blossoms embroidered and beaded in a sweeping shape from the hem to the bodice of the dress where it spread out to cover most of the bust in beautiful, 3d flowers made from thread and beads. A small bit of lace rose above the bodice and, when worn, would drape itself modestly over the top of the bust making the sweetheart neckline appear more conservative than it was. The skirt itself was more or less simple, full with the aforementioned flowers down the front in a curve before meeting the black velvet hem of the skirt. Secreted around the skirts where only Mari knew the openings, were several Kwami-sized pockets. “What does everyone think?” Mari asked the room, and all of the Kwami’s looked it over, giggling with delight over the pockets and giving their approval. “We won’t be able to take everyone, but other than Tikki and Sass, who wants to come with us?” Surprising Marinette and Luka, Plagg moved forward. “I know he can’t really wield me since we don’t mesh well, but do you think you could take the ring with you? I think I’m supposed to go.” “What do you mean Plagg? You haven’t wanted to be active other than saying hello and eating some camembert since Adrien decided he needed a break away from all this?” Marinette asked, raising an eyebrow at the Kwami. “Something is different. In you two, especially scales over there.” Plaggs eyes narrowed at Luka. “I think my kitten is in this city, and you two have met him.” Luka and Marinette grinned at each other before confusion took over their faces again. “But what does that have to do with the gala?” “I can do some recon if I’m there.” “Alright then, that’s one for me.” Mari laughed and put a little clip with a black cat on the end on the edge of one of the pockets. “There are 5 in total not counting Tikki, and Luka can only carry another two besides Sass.” In the end, it was decided that Mari would have Plagg, Mullo, Trixx, Pollen and Nooroo in addition to Tikki. Luka ended up with Wayzz, Duusu and Sass of course. The others weren’t interested in going to the party and would rather hang out in the box or around the house.

***

Damian sighed and ducked around a column to get a moment to himself cursing the nosy people at the party in various languages. In his brief moment to himself, he began to notice that he wasn’t just feeling his own annoyance. Frowning in concentration, he turned to scan the ballroom, spotting them near the stage, talking to Jagged Stone of all people. He focused on them, and tried to be heard by just them across the ballroom. ‘I didn’t know you would be here.’ Both Parisians jolted, and looked around, spotting him in his little hiding spot. ‘Is there a reason you’re hiding instead of saying hello?’ Damian could hear the amusement in Lukas' voice. Both of his soulmates looked away and just quietly stepped away from Jagged, making it look like they were talking amongst themselves. ‘Yes, people are too nosy for their own good and they will ask more questions than I am prepared to answer.’ ‘Damian, we owe nobody an explanation for saying hello.’ Marinette chided gently. ‘Besides, Luka and I have mastered the art of getting people to leave us alone with just a look.’ ‘If you say so. Give me a moment.’ Damian straightened his jacket and made it seem like he’d been adjusting his wardrobe as he left the pillar. “There you are, I wanted to introduce you to someone.” Damian held back a grimace and turned to his Father. “Those camping trips I take once and a while? This is the man I go with.” Incidentally, the person Bruce was pointing to was Jagged himself. “Hell of a time getting away for both of us, but SO worth the quiet.” Jagged grinned and held out his hand. “By camping, Brucie means we go to my cabin in the mountains and sit around the fire pit complaining about life. Pleasure to meet you at last, I’ve heard a lot of good things about you.” “Thank you sir, it’s nice to meet you.” Damian’s smile in return was a bit forced, but thankfully Mari and Luka came to the rescue. “Someone interesting, Jagged?” Marinette asked as they walked over. ‘How much do you want us to say, Damian?’ Marinette added silently, her eyes concerned over how stiff he was and how tightly he was holding his emotions. Damian relaxed slightly, his fake smile relaxing into something a little more neutral but real. ‘I am alright. I will explain to the others later, but perhaps if we can get a quiet moment with my Father?’ Both Luka and Marinette raised an eyebrow at the fact that he’d left out that he was a Wayne before but took it in stride. With little more than a glance between them, Luka put a gentle hand on Jaggeds arm, and pulled the man away, asking him a couple questions about the tour they’d just finished. The man was bewildered, but Luka and Marinette planned things behind his back all the time when they felt it necessary, so he didn’t do more than give Damian and Marinette a questioning look as he was led away. “That was.” Damian commented out loud, shaking his head. “Surprisingly easy for you two.” Marinette laughed, “We’d been working together before we knew, so it took little time to figure it out. Now, Luka pulled Jagged away so the three of us could have a private word.” She turned to Bruce, glancing around for listening ears. “We happened to be seated on the plane next to Damian and, well.” She gestured between them. “I’m afraid you will have to elaborate, Ms. Dupain Cheng.” Bruce narrowed his eyes at the two of them, his face visibly confused. “What she is referring to, Father, is that they are apparently my bonded.” Damian explained. “Both of them.” He added after a moment’s silence. ‘You will explain the work you did together?’ He asked Marinette silently. ‘Soon enough, it’s a rather long story.’ Marinette’s face didn’t even change when she answered, and she started talking to Bruce over the end of her own sentence. “Luka and I had known each other for years before we found out our bond, and we’d always known that there was supposed to be a third for us. However, as we were in Paris, and Damian was apparently here, that obviously made it so that we didn’t meet until on the airplane here.” “And how did you figure it out? Not that I’m not happy for you three, but I know my son, and he tends to be reluctant to even speak to strangers.” Bruce was fishing, and Damian knew it. Marinette seemed to be able to tell too, as she was unphased by his question. “Easy, he was exhausted and fell asleep on the plane leaning on Luka. When Luka needed to move and was panicking because he didn’t want to wake up Damian, he was obviously exhausted and seemed comfortable where he was, Damian responded to his silent monologue about the situation and Damian responded in kind.” Marinette giggled, mentally nudging him when she made an edit to preserve his dignity. ‘Thank you for not going into detail.’ Damian rolled his eyes and smirked. “I had thought I’d talked to him out loud, and promptly fell back to sleep, when they woke me again shortly before the flight was over, and informed me that I had not -in fact- spoken out loud.” He then surprised both his father and himself by reaching over to put a hand on Marinette’s shoulder. “They were kind enough to give me time to process and after I gave them my phone number, texted me only to give me theirs and let me process on my own after that.” “To be fair, we passed out and slept till almost noon after we texted you, so it wasn’t restraint on our parts, just that we were too tired to stay up anymore. Especially since we didn’t sleep on the plane.” Marinette laughed dryly. “That’s an eight hour flight.” Bruce commented in shock. “You two were awake the whole time?” “Well yes, we hadn’t been up all that long anyway, and with Damian sleeping against Luka, he wasn’t sure if Damian would be offended if he woke up to a sleeping man holding him. Luka’s a cuddler and even if Damian started it he didn’t want to do anything that would make him uncomfortable.” Marinette shrugged. “If he was uncomfortable, why did he not simply move me to not be leaning on him anymore?” Damian asked, having realized that the only time he’d been moved was when Luka got up for the bathroom. “One, the only discomfort he had was not something that moving you would have solved, and two, we did.” She sighed, shrugging. “Every time he shifted you to be sitting upright, you just grabbed onto his arm and put your head back on his shoulder. And when he had to get up he tried a little harder and you got grumpy, but when he sat back down you were right there again. You were practically in his lap.” “And how many people saw this?” Damian asked with an internal groan. “If it gets put on the internet, I will never hear the end of it from the heathens.” “I think Luka and I were the only ones to notice, most everyone else was asleep.” Marinette reassured him. ‘I do have a couple photos and plan on one of them being your profile pic on my phone later.’ This was added as a teasing whisper in his mind and he internally groaned again. Luka broke into the conversation, ‘You have two guys inbound, tall, one of them is slender but muscled, the other slightly shorter and stocky.’ He added a look at where they were and what they looked at. “Grayson, Todd, what did you want?” Damian asked dryly as soon as they stepped close enough for him to hear their footsteps. “How did you do that, Demon Spawn?” Todd demanded as all three people turned to face the men who’d walked up. Marinette stiffened at the nickname, obviously offended at the nickname. ‘It’s alright, he says it because he cares.’ Damian reassured her, sending soothing emotions to her and Luka who’d been walking over as this was said. “I don’t feel like answering that question right now, Todd, but why did you come over here, this was a private conversation.” “Why did you and B need a private word with Jagged’s niece?” Grayson asked, frowning and looking between Bruce and Damian like he could figure out their secret. “That’s a conversation for home, Dick.” Bruce sighed. “And that’s when we decide to tell you, but it’s just something we needed to talk about before moving forward.” He glanced at Luka over Marinette’s shoulder, nodding at him to acknowledge that he’d walked back up. “Can you please not call her his niece? It’s rather awkward at this point.” Luka commented, putting his arms around Marinette’s waist. “She’s my soulmate, he’s my dad, it’s weird, you know?” That caught everyone’s attention, including Damian. “Wait, you’re Jagged’s son?” Bruce sputtered, his face astounded. “The way he talked about you, I figured you were like ten. Not an adult that was touring with him. He also didn’t introduce you as his son.” “I know, I didn’t grow up with him. My mom raised me and my sister, I didn’t really have any contact with him until I was a teenager.” Luka shrugged, “Doesn’t make it any less weird when he calls my soulmate his niece.” “Excuse you, I claimed her before you two even met.” Jagged laughed loudly, causing half the ballroom to look to see who was being so loud. “I think that gives me the right to keep calling her that.” “It’s still weird.” Luka shot back, shaking his head and leaning into Marinette’s hair. ‘This is why I pulled him away, he’s so loud about everything that the whole ballroom would know if he’d been part of it. You said you’d get made fun of if certain people found out.’ Damian smirked, looking down slightly, ‘Thank you, Luka.’ “Anyway, Luka, Marinette, these are two of my other sons, Jagged I’m sure you remember Dick and Jason?” Bruce pointed to each one in turn. “Wait, why does Damian call them by other names then?” Marinette wrinkled her nose a bit, trying to figure it out. “Damian… Has his own way of doing things. I’m surprised he doesn’t call you two by your last names.” Bruce admitted. “We never told him them.” Luka shrugged calmly, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. “Okay, I’m confused, how do you all know Damian?” Dick asked, crossing his arms as Tim came to investigate what was going on. “For the love of… Short answer, they met on the plane here, the rest of it we will talk about at a later time and place, when Damian wants to share. That is the end of it, go back to the party.” Bruce grunted at the boys, glaring at them in annoyance while keeping the rest of his face in a neutral expression that he’d practiced for years. “Alright, alright, we’re going.” Jason threw up his hands and grumbled about people being touchy as he walked away. “The one day he’s not in a grumpy mood he has to irritate the rest of us.” Damian clicked his tongue in irritation and shook his head as Dick and Tim also drifted away with shrugs and curious looks thrown at the Parisians. “Well, why don’t you guys enjoy the party, we can talk soon. After I’ve had a chance to wrangle the whole family into not bothering the heck out of Damian over everything.” Bruce gave a small, slightly sarcastic smile and then softened. “Glad things are good though. I’m happy for you.” He patted Damian on the shoulder and walked away to join Jagged who was now talking with a few women by the refreshment table. “So… I take it he approves?” Marinette asked. “Yeah, I think he does.” Damian had the urge to hug his soulmates, but he contented himself with sending as much warmth and happiness to them through the bond as he could.

#mgi trope tussle #maribat #lukadaminette #miraculous fanfic #miraculous au #soulmate #dc

[nerdypanda3126]

Humming

So apparently I can’t get away from the Moments series, ‘cause this little lukanette moment popped into my head and... well... I just had to write it. 

Huge thanks to @writtenbyrain for giving this a read-through! 💖

Read on Ao3

Luka hummed even in his sleep.

It was after a Kitty Section rehearsal when Marinette first found out. Ivan and Mylène had already left and Luka had gone to the back to meditate. Marinette, Rose, and Juleka were below deck working on the new costumes. Juleka was nodding along as they talked, occasionally adding a thought here and there, but mostly just listening.

From the back room, a tuneless humming started up, which made Rose and Marinette fall silent.

“He does that sometimes,” Juleka muttered from behind her bangs, shrugging. “Just stressed.”

“Why is Luka stressed?” Marinette asked.

“School, work, love, music, take your pick.”

Marinette stuck her bottom lip out in an unconscious pout as she thought about a stressed Luka. He was always so calm, and nothing ever seemed to bother him. Part of that had to be his meditation practice, but part of it was just… him. So if he was stressed out... She thought back to the past few times she’d seen him. Had there been more tightness to the way he held his shoulders? He had mentioned he hadn’t had any time to redo his hair; and he’d been picking at the chips in his nail polish during rehearsal earlier that night, too.

It made her feel absolutely awful for calling on him to be Viperion more than usual lately. She tucked her hair behind her ear and tugged at her earring. If he was under so much pressure already, she shouldn't be putting any more on him. She shouldn't be asking any more from him. But she liked having him around if she was being honest. Not just his Second Chance power, but him. His cool head and quiet intensity.

It made sense, though, that if he was worked up about anything it would pop up when he was asleep. While he was unable to redirect or breathe through it. She tugged at her earring again and resolved to ask less of him. The humming stopped abruptly and the rest of the brainstorming session was eerily quiet without it.

She didn’t think about it again until she was dropping the costumes off. Juleka had said Luka would be there and he’d help her carry them onboard. But when she set foot on deck with the masks in her hands, his tuneless humming greeted her.

She followed the noise and found him passed out on the loveseat in the atrium, on his back with his legs hanging over the side. The fading orange light of the setting sun streamed through the arched westward-facing windows and spilled over his still form. He was still clutching his bike helmet; his knuckles grazed the floor occasionally as the boat swayed in the water. He must've come straight from work and been too exhausted to even make it down to his room.

She set the masks down, trying her best not to let them clatter to the floor, and ventured to his side to ease the helmet out of his grip. The humming paused and she froze, worried she’d woken him. But he only pulled his arm up and tucked it around his stomach. He tossed his head to the side and his hair fell over his eyes. When the sunlight split through it his hair looked more dark reddish-brown than black—his natural highlights bleeding through the semi-permanent dye. The blue fringe haloing his face was faded, too. She ached to run her fingers through it, to see the colors change and blend together in the sunlight.

As soon as he was settled, his humming started up again. It was a deeper note than before and a crease formed between his eyebrows in his sleep. He tossed his head again to face her before the pitch changed. It became a high, keening noise, like cicadas whining in summer, and it made Marinette’s heart feel like breaking.

Hesitantly, she laid the back of her hand to his cheek. He ran cool as he slept and she put her palm to his cheek instead, hoping to give him some warmth. His lips curved up into a smile in his sleep. She stroked his cheekbone softly. For some reason, her touch seemed to be calming him. The furrow had disappeared from between his eyebrows, and his humming was quieting until she could barely feel it through the vibration of his jaw. When even that faded, she pulled away and paused to look at him.

“How'd you do that?” Juleka’s voice from the entrance of the atrium made Marinette jump. Juleka’s fingertips were braced above the doorway and she was leaning forward; Marinette had a brief moment of envy because Juleka was tall enough that it was barely a stretch for her. She dared to glance back at Luka and he was still solidly asleep, although his lips were moving as if he was singing along to something in his dream.

“Heavy sleeper,” Juleka pointed out with a shrug.

“Um… I don’t know? I just… I touched his cheek?”

Juleka rolled her eyes. “Figures.”

“What?”

“Just when I thought he couldn’t get any more hopeless.” Juleka hung into the doorway a bit more and shook her head at him.

Marinette turned to look at Luka again. The small smile hadn’t left him. His eyelids were fluttering as he dreamed, and his fingers twitched on his stomach along to whatever melody he must be hearing. She wondered what it was like for him. To hear music everywhere, all the time. It almost sounded suffocating to her, but then she couldn't play like he could. She couldn't get to the heart of people like he could.

She started when she realized Juleka was still watching her. This must look like Marinette was being a total creep, watching her brother as he slept. Juleka smirked and Marinette blushed as she looked away.

“Watch this,” Juleka muttered. She waited until Marinette’s eyes were back on Luka before she raised the volume of her voice. “Marinette.”

“Mmm…’nette.” Luka mumbled back. Marinette’s breath caught in her chest. If she hadn’t actually seen his lips moving, forming the syllables, she wouldn’t have believed it.

“Found that out after you left last time," Juleka said smugly behind her. "He does it every time.”

Marinette tried not to think too hard about what Juleka was implying. But Luka's unconscious smile had her heart fluttering. She tore her eyes away to look back at Juleka. “He’s just repeating the last word he’s hearing,” Marinette said. She couldn't help that her tone came out more defensive than she'd meant it to.

Juleka raised her eyebrows.

“I’m sure it works with any name,” she continued stubbornly.

“Tried that. Just yours.”

Luka's humming picked up again, as if he could sense—even in his sleep—the tiny amount of tension between her and Juleka. Juleka jerked her head at him, her eyebrows still raised expectantly at Marinette.

Marinette let out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding before she reached out to brush the blue tips of his hair out of his eyes, letting her fingers linger against his forehead before she followed his brow bone around to cup his cheek again.

The humming stopped.

His cerulean eyes opened onto hers.

He blinked at her before his hand came up to cover hers and his eyes bounced over to Juleka.

"Welcome back, sleeping beauty," Juleka sneered.

Without hesitation, he grabbed the throw pillow behind his head and threw it at her face. Juleka caught it, still grinning.

"I thought I told you to cut that out," he muttered darkly, letting Marinette’s hand go as he pushed himself up on his elbows.

"I think your specific words were—" Juleka scrunched her face up in a comical frown and deepened her voice to mimic Luka's—"'get the hell outta my face!'"

"And stop screwing with me when I'm asleep!" Luka reached underneath his knees for more artillery in the form of another throw pillow.

"But you didn't say anything about Marinette screwing with you." Juleka’s smirk was threatening to slip off the side of her face.

Luka froze mid-swing and his eyes snapped to Marinette. Her hands flew up in defense.

"It was just—I mean, I didn't mean to! You were humming and when I touched your cheek and it stopped and then Juleka—and you said my name and I—" She clapped her hand over her mouth as Luka's eyes slowly went wider and his cheeks started turning pink. "I'm sorry," she said finally.

Luka turned back to glower at Juleka. Juleka stared back, feigning innocence. After an intense standoff between the siblings, Juleka stuck her tongue out and waved her fingers under her chin before she giggled and walked away. Luka sighed and fell back against the couch when she was gone, covering his face with his hands as he groaned.

“You’re so lucky you don’t have any siblings,” he muttered into his palms. With another sigh, he wiped his hands down over his face and sat up fully. He shook off his exhaustion and fixed his expression before he focused on Marinette again. “Sorry about that.” His smile quirked to the side and he grunted as he started to lift himself up. “Costumes, right? Are they still on the bank? I can carry them in.”

Without thinking about it, Marinette’s hand shot out to his shoulder and pushed him gently back down. He followed her direction, then raised his eyebrows in a question. She pulled her hand away from him and started twisting her fingers together instead.

“Y-you’re tired. I can take care of this.”

“Marinette, I’m fi—”

“No, you're not.” She fell to sit next to him and he turned to face her, crossing his ankle under his knee as he did and simultaneously putting a respectful space between them. He draped his arm across the back of the couch, though, so his fingers were a stretch away from brushing against her shoulder. Marinette bit her lip and glanced down at her hands in her lap. “I-I can… tell," she continued. "You worry so much about everyone else, and make sure they're taken care of. But you're wearing yourself too thin, taking everything on your shoulders like this. You need to take a break sometimes, too."

He hummed and turned his face to the window. She snuck a glance at him; he had his eyes closed as he raised his face to the sunlight that was filtering into the room. His tension left him as he took a deep breath in through his nose and let it out through his mouth. His shoulders relaxed; that small, unconscious smile came back; and he hummed again, in pleasure this time instead of in thought. When he opened his eyes again, he turned them on her, and his smile grew when he noticed she had been watching him.

“You’re probably right,” he said, his voice low and quiet. “Everyone needs a break sometimes.”

The way his blue eyes were so focused on her—like he was turning her words back on her—made a blush rise to her cheeks again and she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear before she looked out the window this time instead. She felt it when he dropped his intense gaze to look just over her shoulder instead of through her.

“I do worry about people,” he started again, “at least, the people I care about. The people close to me.” His fingers twitched towards her on the back of the couch and she shifted subtly into his touch. “And it can be a lot sometimes. But it’s nothing compared to what Chat Noir or Ladybug must feel. They have an entire city to care about.”

His choice of words, and his quiet delivery, made her shiver. She dared to glance back at him and he wasn’t looking over her shoulder. He was looking at her ear. Where she had unthinkingly exposed the plain black stud of her unactivated Miraculous. His fingers brushed against her shoulder, reassuring her in his gentle way.

“You worry about them, too, then?”

He hummed again in agreement, a lower, more somber note than before. She found herself thinking that if you took all his different hums and put them together you could have a song all by itself.

“I can’t imagine the pressure they’re under. They don’t seem much older than Juleka, but they’re out there saving Paris on an almost weekly basis. I just…” He shook his head and sighed. “I wish I could help more, you know?”

Tears were springing to her eyes and she sniffed before she looked out the window again to swipe one away before it could fall. Before he could see. “You do,” she admitted, “more than you know.” She cleared her throat to try to get rid of the lump that was starting to stick there. “Um, but that’s why you should take more time for yourself, too. So that… the people that you care about… um…” She dared to glance up at him and he was looking off to her side this time, giving her space to say what she needed to. “Um, we worry about you, too.”

He gave her a slow, gentle smile as his eyes traveled back to hers. “I’ll keep that in mind.” He dropped his hand to her shoulder and squeezed gently, and it sent a wave of warmth through her. "Thanks for thinking of me, Marinette."

He pulled away and stood, offering her a hand up. "Together, then?"

Her heart started fluttering again as she put her hand in his. She had a feeling he was talking about more than just bringing the costumes in. He raised his eyebrows as she hesitated, holding his hand, deciding if she should take him at his word or not.

Her brow furrowed as she looked up at him. The burnt orange rays of the sunset haloed around him, making him look gold around the edges. He was still smiling, and his hand tightened around hers.

"If we both do a little, neither one of us carries the full weight," he said with an easy half-shrug. "I help you, you help me, everyone wins."

She let him help her up, and she steadied herself by bracing her hand against his elbow. His pulse raced under her thumb and she squeezed lightly. "You're right," she agreed finally. And he was.

It was time for him to have Sass full time. It was time she trusted him to know his own limits, and to help her if that's what he wanted to do.

"Together," she murmured back, squeezing his elbow one more time before she reached up to press a quick kiss to his cheek. "Thank you for thinking of me, too."

From the doorway, there was an obvious, sarcastic throat clear and Luka turned to look right as a throw pillow thwacked him in the face. Juleka was hiding a snicker behind her hand by the doorway. Marinette glanced behind Juleka and noticed that while she and Luka had been talking, Juleka had quietly carried the rest of the costumes on board and set them by the stage. When she looked back at Luka, she watched as his eyes flicked to the costumes, then back to Juleka before his soft smile turned wicked.

He picked up the pillow from the floor and Juleka flinched as he cocked his arm back like he was getting ready to chuck it at her with all his strength. But at the last second he swung at Marinette instead, catching her shoulder and tugging one of her pigtails loose. He grinned as both girls gasped and Marinette automatically reached for the other throw pillow still on the loveseat behind her.

Luka raised his eyebrows in a clear challenge, but flicked his eyes almost imperceptibly back at Juleka and Marinette smirked back at him as she caught his meaning and twisted to fling the pillow at Juleka instead.

An all-out every man for himself war broke out, with Luka augmenting the ammo with anything soft he could get his hands on, Marinette dodging as seriously as if they were akuma blasts, and Juleka hoarding everything in a pile on the stage. She cackled when—out of breath, out of ammo, out of ideas—Luka and Marinette were forced to concede.

But they shared another glance with each other and rushed her at once, forcing her to take a step back and fall into her pillow pile. Luka landed on one side of her with his arm wrapped around her middle—even as he'd tackled Juleka he'd made sure he took the brunt of the fall—and Marinette landed on her other side, giggling at the thrill of their hard-earned victory.

They stayed like that, letting their laughter peter out, until the lights of Paris started twinkling into view like stars. Juleka muttered something about her turn to make dinner and disentangled herself from Luka's arm, which fell limply back to the pillows.

When Juleka had walked away, Marinette glanced over at Luka and he looked like he was asleep again already, his smile from their war softened, but still there, his breathing deep and even. Content, she realized.

As the last rays of pink light started to streak across the sky above them, she also realized that she should be getting back home. She pushed herself up on her elbows, thinking about how she could let him know she was leaving without waking him. Before she could second-guess herself, she leaned over and pressed a kiss to the back of his hand before she stood and walked stiffly across the deck.  

As she set foot on the stairs, his tuneless humming started up behind her, although it was softer, warmer. It was the same note as before when he'd lifted his face to the dwindling sunlight. She looked back one more time and blushed as she realized he'd moved to occupy the space Juleka had been in earlier. The space next to where Marinette had been. And his hand had curled around one of the pillows she'd been laying on as if he would've held her to him had she stayed.

She turned away from him, and even the chill seeping into the air as the final vestiges of light disappeared couldn't cool her burning cheeks. The entire way home she had his humming singing through her thudding heartbeat and an uncontrollable smile on her face.

#miraculous ladybug #mlb fic #ml fic #lukanette #lukanette endgame #marinette dupain cheng #luka couffaine #juleka couffaine #fic series: moments

[lala-ladybug]

Healing Hands: Chapter 5

Can you say ~trauma~?

Jasonette Sword Art Online AU

Read here on AO3

Tag list: @iloontjeboontje

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Chapter 5: Yes, Dick? You’re looking particularly dickish today

After so much commotion, the silence as they sat made Marinette’s ears ring. She and her Order were gathered in the spacious living room of Chloe’s house. After checking to make sure it was empty, she and the other miraculous holders had reassured their civilian classmates and sent them off to bed. They’d spent the better part of the day getting out of the overcrowded town. Thank Kwami they hadn’t still been travelling after the sun went down, but the noises from the woods still kept them all awake. Kagami had dug out a teapot from the kitchen cabinets and brewed several mugs for those who had needed one. No one was hungry.

Marinette’s hands shook slightly as she sipped her tea. That was another blessing, that Chloe’s VIP pass included a partially stocked kitchen to begin with. They would explore the rest of the house tomorrow, but for now, while the others rested.... They needed to talk.

She set her cup down with a sound that was amplified in the heavy quiet, then took a deep breath. “Okay....” The words felt strange in her mouth. She swallowed against the lump in her throat. “Can anyone sense their Kwami?”

She looked around at the blank faces of her friends as they all tried to reach for their respective powers. Chloe’s lip trembled, but her eyes were dry. Luka and Kagami’s jaws clenched, and Adrien frowned as he shook his head.

“None of us can, then,” Luka stated evenly, finally voicing what she’d been afraid of.

Marinette bit her lip. Kagami placed her cup of tea down forcefully. “What are we going to do.” It wasn’t a question so much as a statement.

Marinette rubbed her eyes. Kwami, what could they do? They should count themselves lucky they weren’t dead yet. She could only imagine her Maman and Papa’s panic, but they hadn’t tried to pull her out, so she hadn’t....

They could still die though, if what the Game Master had said was true. If their HP dropped to zero, they would die. There was no Second Chance or Lucky Charm this time. But they were still likely among the best trained people in the game. Her mind was made up.

“We fight.” She finally said with all the confidence she could muster. “There are thousands of civilians stuck in here with us, so we need to fight for them. We need to beat the level bosses in order to advance, right?” The question was rhetorical, but Chloe nodded and Kagami blinked in affirmation all the same.

“Good,” Marinette stood up. “We will be the ones to fight these bosses. So they don’t have to. Think about it, even without our Kwami, we still have an edge on everyone else here. The faster we beat the game, the faster they can go home.”

“And us too!” Adrien jumped up with a smile. “And us too,” Marinette echoed.

Luka drained his tea and stood next. “So it’s settled then,” he put a hand on her shoulder, steady as ever.

“Indeed,” Kagami rose beside them.

Chloe stared up at them, eyes wide. “You really think we can do this?” She asked in a small voice.

Marinette looked her in the eye and said, “I know we can.” The blonde released a small sigh and stood as well. A gleam of determination entered her eye as she said, “Okay. Let’s go save everyone from this ridiculous game.”

* * *

Jason, Jaime, Cassie, and Zatanna returned to the center of town. It was nearly deserted now, the murky twilight creating pockets of shadows around the square, perfect for hiding lurking figures. But it was nothing Jason couldn’t handle. In fact, with his current mood, he damn well dared them to try.

They’d spent hours hacking away at the wild boars, Jaime even joining in as his allergies permitted him. The four had gained a few player levels and a decent amount of money and loot. But damn if it wasn’t tiring as hell.

His crossbow was much more taxing than using guns, and it used different muscles in his shoulders and arms than he was accustomed to working. He could tell the others were similarly weighed down by exhaustion. Cassie’s whip demanded an endurance she wasn’t used to without her super strength, Jaime’s throws of a handaxe grew increasingly shorter the longer they fought, and Zatanna wasn’t used to fighting with physical weapons at all. It took everything they had left to drag themselves back into town.

One of the shadows a few feet away swam with sudden movement. Jason equipped his crossbow, arms shaking with the effort of just holding it. Damnit, now was not a good time, but he’d still fight these bastards with everything he had.

He relaxed when he saw it was Dick and the rest of Team Alpha approaching. Putting his weapon away, Jason crossed his arms and planted his feet firmly. Dick better have gotten them those fucking beds for the night.

“We’re just waiting on Beta,” Dick said in a low voice. “Then we can go to the inn and regroup.” The others could regroup. Jason would be heading right to sleep. He stalked over to the brick wall Bart sat slumped against and leaned his shoulder against it. The cool roughness grounded him and kept his eyes open.

He distantly heard Zatanna telling Dick that they had made out okay in the west. Unnecessary talking when there were other players listening nearby. He swallowed against the urge to forcibly silence them that was rising in his blood. It sang with the persistent thrum of battle, unshakable as it was insistent. He closed his eyes and counted his breaths. One. Breathe out and picture a color. Blue. Breathe in. Two. Out. Yellow. In. Three. Out. Green.

He’d barely reached ten by the time Tim led his group back to join them. The song in his blood stilled for now, he pushed off of the wall and followed as Dick and Wally guided them to the inn. He hardly registered his surroundings as they entered and divvied up the rooms. He, Dick, Tim, and Wally were in one room, the girls in another, and the other boys in a third. The place seemed clean enough as he cast his tired eyes around the tavern.

They climbed the stairs to their rooms and settled in each. Dick and Tim sat on their beds talking about going to the other boys’ room-- the largest of the three-- to discuss strategy. Jason hardly heard them as his head hit the pillow and he fell asleep.

* * *

The warmth of the early morning sun on her face woke Marinette up. She stretched and yawned, wincing at her soreness. Sometimes this game was a little too realistic. In the bed beside hers, Chloe grumbled something about the girls’ room having no curtains over the window and rolled over.

Marinette gave a strained smile at that. She quietly dressed and descended the ladder from their small loft to where the rest of the girls were still sleeping, and tip-toed out to the hall.

Down the stairs was the kitchen, empty save for a softly steaming tea kettle that meant Kagami and Luka would soon be joining her. She prepared dough to make fresh croissants as she had every couple of days for the past few weeks since they’d been trapped in the game.

The thought briefly gave her pause, that they’d already been here for close to a month, but she shook it off and formed the croissants onto the baking tray. She slid them into the oven just as Kagami and Luka trailed in from the garden. They’d been harvesting the already-ripe blueberries, and laid a heaping basket of them on the countertop.

Chloe’s VIP pass had saved their lives and then some. It came with a comfortably sized house that included a full kitchen, sitting area, storage room, balcony, two massive bedrooms with enough room to house all twelve of them, a garden ready to be planted in, and stables already stocked with several horses. It really was luxurious, and if they weren’t trapped in the game, she would have found it much more enjoyable.

The property also included a small pond that had proved to give a refreshing swim after training sessions, a well, and a few acres of woods. The latter was where they did most of their monster-training. Marinette had already reached a player level of 10 just by fighting the various denizens of their backyard. The rest of the new Order wasn’t far behind her, ranging from levels 7 to 10 between the four of them.

“Good morning, Marihime,” Kagami inclined her head respectfully, then poured the tea into three waiting mugs. Luka thanked her and shot Marinette a quick smile as way of greeting.

She nodded back and stirred a generous helping of sugar into her mug. The three sipped their tea while they waited for the croissants to bake. Once they were finished and cooling, Marinette and the others donned cloaks to protect against the morning chill and started their brisk morning walk into town.

The dirt path wound down to the base of the hill where several more paths for other player houses split off the main track that they now set on. The lush grass on either side was covered in a slight blanket of mist from the evaporating morning dew. Birds chirped high above, darting between the sparse trees. The walk took about a half hour, and their tea was nearly finished by the time they arrived at the outskirts of the city.

Kagami polished off her mug and placed it back in her inventory, then rested her hand warily on the hilt of her rapier as they began encountering more people. Their destination, a news stand, was thankfully not too close to the center of town. The less people they encountered, the better.

“Get your daily paper here! New news every day! Two copper pieces for a paper, one gold for a yearly subscription.” Marinette veered towards the NPC shouting her wares.

“Hi, one paper please,” she said breathlessly, and slid two copper pieces onto the counter.

“Here you go!” The vendor, an ample woman of thirty, took the coins and handed Marinette a folded newspaper with a smile. “You know, you’re one of my best customers. I’ll give you a deal,” she winked, “how about fifty silver for a yearly subscription!”

“Oh, that’s very kind of you miss, but I’m afraid we won’t be staying quite that long,” Marinette replied. At least, she hoped not.

“Very well dear, have a lovely day!” The NPC thankfully seemed unbothered, and went back to shouting her prices to the general population.

Luka and Kagami moved from their posts of casually guarding Marinette while she dealt with the woman manning the stall. The three set off back the way they’d come, ready for another day of training and exploring the first level.

Marinette unfolded the newspaper and skimmed the headlines while they walked, trusting her companions to keep an eye out for her. However, they weren’t expecting her to stop dead in her tracks. It took a moment for them to turn around and backtrack to where she stood staring intently at the paper in her hands.

“Holy Kwami....” She said, and read the article title again. “‘Exploration team finds boss dungeon entrance!’” She read aloud.

Luka moved to peer over her shoulder and read it alongside her. “You know what this means?” He asked with a small smile.

Kagami put her hand on Marinette’s shoulder. “We are on the path to ending this.”

* * *

Jason woke up to an empty house. It had only been a few weeks since the start of the game, and his idiot brothers were out in the village. Again. He groaned at the motion of swinging his legs off the bed to sit up. Training to get used to the in-game movements was getting old.

He stood and rubbed the back of his neck, loosening some of the stiffness that seemed to have soaked into his bones. He went downstairs to the spacious kitchen to get some fruits for breakfast. With twelve people to make money and collect resources, the team had made quick work of purchasing a large house to use as a base.

Grabbing a few apples for the road, Jason traced the now-familiar path to find Dick and a few of the others in a communal amphitheater. Bart and Wally were handing out flyers near the entrances, chatting people up and trying to convince them to come listen to where Dick and Tim were speaking below.

Jason took a seat next to Artemis, near the back. “At it again?” He asked her, crunching into his apple.

She was leaning forward to prop her elbows on her knees, her chin resting in cupped hands. “Yup,” she said, popping the “p.” She sighed and sat up. “All week, and we’ve only got a handful of recruits.”

“We’re all in this together after all,” Dick was saying loudly. “So join us to help end this game! I have a plan to train recruits for taking on the first level boss.”

Jason yawned. Same old fuckin’ stupid plan. There’s just no way to make risking your life sound enticing. “The others still out hunting?” He nudged Artemis’s knee with his own.

She nodded in affirmation, looking similarly discouraged and bored. He got up and started to leave, deciding to make himself useful and join the rest of the team in fighting.

“Jason!” A shout made him stop. He looked to the sky and muttered to himself about patience, then turned to face his brother. “Yes, Dick? You’re looking particularly dickish today.”

Dick crossed his arms. “Haha, very funny. If you’re not busy, I could really use you here spreading the word.”

“Look, people just don’t want to go up against something they’ve never faced before. Hell, half these dumbasses haven’t even been in a real fight before.” He shook his head. “This is a waste of time. I’m going to fight some monsters so that I can level up and be ready for when we inevitably face the big bad without these posers.”

Dick narrowed his eyes at that. “Now hold on a minute, we have no idea what we’re going up against here. We need a bigger group before we’re ready to go up against the boss. More than half of us aren’t up to par with our special moves out of the picture, and we’re still trying to figure out the gameplay.” He held his hands out placatingly. “An exploration group just found the probable location of the boss dungeon, so that’s half the battle already. We just need to wait for more recruits and a more solid plan.”

“So how long are we supposed to wait, Dick?” Jason asked incredulously. “A week? A month? A year? How many people are going to die while we ‘figure out’ how to do something we already damn well know how to do.” He poked an accusatory finger at Dick’s chest. “We’ve been training for weeks already, we can handle this.”

“I hear you Jay, but we have no idea what kind of a threat this is going to be. We need to take our time and--”

“What you need is a fucking backbone. We’re the best hope that thousands of people have at surviving! I say we train some more and then fight the damn thing ourselves, recruits or no.” He couldn’t believe Dick. Saving people was supposed to be his schtick, not Jason’s. “Hundreds of people have already died, in case you forgot, and this is only the first fucking level. Time is a luxury we do not have.”

Dick looked ready to retort when a young boy came up to him and tapped him on the elbow. “Excuse me, mister? I’m interested in recruitment!”

Jason took advantage of the distraction and stalked off towards the center of town. What a... well, Mr. and Mrs. Grayson picked a damn good name.

If Dick wanted to know what they were up against, then fine. He’d go find out for him.

#healing hands #jasonette #sword art online au #virtual reality #maribat #maribat fic #batfam #batfam fic #yj #yj fic #young justic #young justice fic

[coffeecomicsgalore]

Navigating the Chaos

Ao3

@adrinetteapril

Chapter 4: Best Friends

Marinette stood in front of her computer, waiting for the game screen to load completely. She could hear Chat stand behind her, completely unsure of what to do next.

“You can detransform, Adrien.” She muttered out without turning around. “My parents are already asleep.”

Marinette could hear Chat’s boot scuff against her floorboards, before uttering the words that would change him back to Adrien. Once the green glow vanished and she heard the nasally sound of a tiny god trail off, Marinette inhaled a deep breath before turning around and pursing her lips into a nervous smile. They stared at each other for a few moments.

“Hi.” She said, breaking the silence that started to overwhelm them.

“Hi.” Adrien said back, his voice slightly wavering.

“—I’m sorry—” Both quickly stated, before they each chuckled at their uncanny, in sync abilities.

“Why don’t we play?” Marinette offered him the gaming controller in hopes to ease themselves into the conversation. It was an olive branch in which Adrien happily took.

They sat down on her chairs, both coyly enamored by the screen. They played a round in silence, each looking towards the screen as they contemplated what to say next. Marinette was focused on her character when she heard Adrien clear his throat, but her eyes remained trained to the screen.

“I didn’t lie earlier,” Adrien began as he stared at the screen; his voice low, yet soft. Marinette stopped scrolling through the armor selection to hear what he had to say. “I’m happy that it’s you.”

She turned to face him, giving Adrien her undivided attention. “Me too.” Marinette cracked a small smile which caused Adrien to do the same. “It’s funny. I’ve always surrounded myself with my friends when it came to choosing temporary wielders. Guess I didn’t stray too far from that concept since one of my best friends has been by my side the entire time.”

Adrien ran his hand behind his neck, feeling both flustered and happy at the same time. “Yeah, guess our friendship was always meant to be, wasn’t it?”

“Yeah…” Marinette trailed off and looked to the side, a sad smile etched in her lips. “W-why did you run this morning?”

Adrien looked to the side, feeling slightly ashamed. “I was nervous. Seeing you as Ladybug is one thing. Seeing you as Marinette is another. But knowing you two are the same, really messed with my head. Not that it’s a bad thing! Just that… when you had to go after the fight, it gave me time to think about it. The adrenaline of the fight wore off and I was so excited to see you, but then I realized I didn’t know how to act now that I know, and I… kind of freaked out.”

Marinette let out a relieved sigh, feeling better about why he ran off.

“I’m glad you told me, minou. I know it sounds ridiculous, but I was worried that you were disappointed and couldn’t face me anymore.”

The horrified look on Adrien’s face said it all. “No way, Marinette! You are absolutely amazing and I’m so glad that we go so much closer over the last month. I can’t even tell you how amazing you are. You just are!”

Marinette shook her head and laughed, enjoying the look of complete awe on Adrien’s face. “Tikki already told me the same thing. But don’t go ahead and think that I’m the only amazing one here! You are too, you know. You don’t give yourself enough credit with how incredible you are. I couldn’t be Ladybug without you, and quite frankly, I don’t want another Chat Noir, ever, to take his place.”

“So… are we okay?”

“Of course,” she replied, relieved. “Are we okay?”

“Definitely.” Adrien smiled back, finally feeling relieved that they could move past this. “So… what are we supposed to do next?”

Marinette furrowed her brow as she thought it over. “Well, we have to keep our dynamic the same. That much is obvious. Friendship between Adrien and Marinette; partnership between Ladybug and Chat Noir. I don’t see why that has to change now that we revealed our identities.”

Marinette looked towards the ceiling as she itched her cheek, missing the sad look on Adrien’s face. When she turned towards him, he hid his frown, giving her a grin in its place.

“Oh, I, uh… guess we can discuss more about patrols, plans, and everything else?” She shrugged her shoulders, looking towards their two sleeping kwamis that had cuddled together on Tikki’s makeshift bed of scraps. “I mean, it would be nice to talk to someone about this without having to keep it all hush hush. I’m tired of the secrets.”

Adrien nodded his head in contemplation. “Yeah, I could help relieve some of the stress you’re shouldering too. You don’t have to do this alone.”

“I will.” Marinette scrunched up her face in thought. Adrien tilted his head and nudged her shoulder to get her to say what was on her mind. When she looked away, he placed his hand on hers.

“You don’t have to be afraid to do this alone, Marinette. I’m here. We’re friends and partners. Lean on me so that I can help you.”

Marinette’s eyes turned towards him and she let out an exasperated groan. “Fine. I’ve been hiding the fact that we can’t use our temporary holders, even though I said we could, and have been figuring out which one of us could wield which extra miraculous if it’s needed.”

“Bug…”

“Yeah, yeah, I know. I just… I just don’t want to hurt our friends. They’ve all been akumatized, each one more than once, and I just don’t want to put them in danger just like what happened during the Miracle Queen incident. They were all so good too. I hate that I can’t use them again—Alya, Nino, Max, Luka, Kagami, Kim… I just wish there was another way.”

“We could use others?” Adrien tried to encourage her with an option, but he frowned when she shook her head.

“I don’t want to risk anyone else.”

“But you’re willing to make yourself sick being overwhelmed than asking for new wielders?”

“I’m not making myself—”

“You fell asleep in the middle of class the other day, even after I visited you as Chat and helped you with your homework the night before.” Marinette tried to make herself smaller under his apprehensive gaze, and he continued when he made his point. “Let me guess… guardian work.”

“… yeah.”

“Alright then.” Adrien clapped when he thought of something that could help her. “I’ll come by every couple of days to go over superhero stuff. I rather do it here; plus, you have amazing pastries to keep us motivated—and I don’t want you fretting over any duties unless I’m around. We can make sure we dedicate this time to ‘Sunshine and Clumsy Girl Takes on Hawkbutt’,” Adrien punctuated the phrase with his arm stretched out in front of him, opening and closing his fist at each word.

Marinette to glare at him and he shrugged his shoulders as he continued. “And on top of that, you can teach me all the miraculous and how things work so I can be better equipped to help you.”

Marinette stared as Adrien reached over and grabbed a macaron, biting into it like he didn’t just solve a few of the many weights holding her down. She continued to think as he thought over her words, and she looked back over to her kwamis as the puzzle pieces fell into place.

“Okay.” She stated slowly, continuing to stare at Plagg and Tikki.

“Okay?” Adrien said, his voice hopeful.

“Okay. I won’t handle any duties without you present unless absolutely necessary. We work on things together, and I show you the works.” Adrien beamed and started to go through his character, hoping that Marinette would follow suit. “I said I can’t do this without you. I truly mean that.”

“Good.” Adrien smiled, reaching his closed fist towards her in their usual post-battle finish. Pound it?”

Marinette smiled as she reached her fist over, pressing her knuckles against his. “Pound it.”

#adrinetteapril2021 #adrinette #adrienette

[raven-frost-21]

Can you marry me? Chapter 5 pt 2

She smiled at him as she leaned against the door. “Yeah, I am actually 22. They’re 19. I adopted them a year ago when their parents wouldn’t support them as trans for J and for the use of different pronouns. I got to go, my shift starts in five minutes.”

She waved and shut the door. He quickly checked the number to the list and held in sigh. 15 more to go.

He was done! He smiled and jogged up the stairs to the apartment and burst in. Marinette sat at the counter (the front door is in the kitchen) with a frown as she looked over the records.

“What’s up Nettie?”

She didn’t glance up as she answered. “The tenants of apartment 45. They haven’t paid the rent at all in the two years that they have lived here. And they told me to be careful of you, that you’re a cheater. And the funny thing is, that doesn’t sound like you at all, so the Harpers might just be evicted.”

He paled. ‘It couldn’t be?’ “Roy and Kori Harper?” She nodded.

He groaned and sat down, head hitting the counter with a thunk.

“Former teammates from the Titans. And Kory’s my ex.”

Marinette started to laugh and he looked at her incredulously.

“Get this, They just called the cops on me for extortion and slander!”

She held her phone up and he snorted when he saw the text from one of the tenants on the first floor.

Right as they calmed a sharp knock came to the door. Marinette opened it and two detectives stood there.

“Hello, I’m Detective Sarah Richards. Are you Richard and Marinette Grayson?”

They nodded and she smiled, brown eyes twinkling behind her glasses like Marinette's reading ones.

“Okay so one Kori Anders Harper called saying that you are extorting them claiming to be the owner of the building and that Marinette here is lying by claiming to be married to Richard Grayson former ward of Bruce Wayne.”

The two rolled their eyes in annoyance. “But of course, as they are trying to evade paying what they owe they have been arrested. Both are required to find a new place of residence and all but their personal belongings have been seized to pay you two back.”

Marinette blinked. “How did you do that so fast?”

The woman finally looked up and smiled. “Hi, I’m Sarah, I live on the 4th floor! I just met your lovely husband five minutes before work.”

They burst into laughter and all three ended up on the floor holding their sides while her partner looked down at them with the tired dad look on his face.

“Richards! We have to go!”

Sarah stood up and mock-saluted her partner. “Let’s go then Rogers!”

The two left and the last thing they heard was, “Sarah! For the last time just because my name is Steve and I’m blonde it doesn’t make me Steve Rogers.”

The two snickered at that before Dick got a guilty look on his face. “Crap. Kori and Roy are homeless now, and it’s my fault.”

She snorted and whacked his shoulder. “It’s their fault for acting like they own the building, plus Roy knows Oliver Queen. He’ll be fine.”

`

Jason hung up with a sigh. He slowly marched from his apartment to his brothers and knocked. The door cracked open immediately and Marinette’s tired eyes peered out. “Hey, can I come in? I know it’s late.” She nodded and the door swung open. Smiling he walked through the kitchen and sat on the couch. Looking around he noticed his brother’s absence. “Where’s Dick?” She smiled softly. “He’s resting. He had a major panic attack a few hours ago and is asleep, he hasn’t slept well in weeks.” He smiled sadly and glanced at the dark bags under her own eyes. “It seems you haven’t either.” She smiled sadly. “The alerts went off. My parents are searching Europe for me.” She set her mug down with a clink and turned to him. “What’s the favor?” (she’s on her chaise, it’s opposite the couch.) “My friends got kicked out of their apartment. Someone scammed the police into thinking they were the owners and the two hadn’t paid the rent.” Her brows furrowed. “Roy and Kori Harper?” He nodded, shocked. “Roy and Kori Harper lived in apartment 45. They hadn’t paid their rent in 2 years, when I went to collect they slammed the door in my face after telling me that they were friends with the owner so it was free and some unsavory lies about Dick.” He blinked shocked. “Oh, so how much did they owe?” “$6,000. I charge $250 a month. Well except for you guys.” He scoffed, “Yeah $150 is cheap.” She smiled and took a sip from her mug. “So, you want to ask if they could stay here as my apartment is the only one with room for two extra people?” He nodded. “Yeah, the answer is no. I don’t appreciate being called a kid, or them lying about my husband. If it was just the kid thing, sure. But I despise liars. How easily they can destroy a life and rip everyone you loved away from you.” Her eyes were distant as she spoke and he had a sinking feeling in his chest. “Princess, why did you run away again?” He didn’t know exactly what he thought she was going to do, but throwing a mug of steaming hot chocolate in his face wasn’t it. (The drink not mug.) He yelled and pressed a hand to his eyes and she squeaked. He heard her moving around and ice was suddenly being pressed against his face. “Sorry! I tripped! I didn’t mean to!” After a few minutes he was able to open his eyes and the pain had diminished. “It’s okay Princess.” She tensed slightly but did nothing so he shrugged it off. “I got to go, patrol.” She nodded and shooed him from the apartment. `` She shut the door behind Jason with a gasp. ‘Princess!’ ‘You BELONG TO ME!’ ‘Lila isn’t hurting anyone!’ ‘We’re getting married, princess!’ She shuddered and forced the memories back, Dick needed her. Something with today had set him off. As she got closer to their room she could hear him thrashing and sobbing. “NO! I DIDN’T MEAN TO! DON’T HATE ME!’ She rushed in and knelt by the bed. Softly she began to sing, “Ay, gene roma,” (They were Gypsies) “roma te rodes,” (As I gypsy I am looking for,) “ay, baxt bari, baxt byari,” (Big Happiness, Big Happiness) “Kay tut te rodes?” (Where are you and I looking for?) “Baxt te amori?” (Is there our happiness?) “Cykav o drom baro,” (Show me the big road) “Drom amenge.” (Our way.) (loose translation, I think it’s romani, it’s what it said it was but it could be romanian) As she neared the end he quieted and stilled. As she finished his arms shot out and wrapped around her, pulling her into bed with him and trapping her partially under him. She wriggled and managed to take her reading glasses off, grateful that she was already dressed for bed when his grip tightened when she shifted away. Smiling she curled up against his chest and breathed deeply enjoying his scent. She fell asleep with a small smile on her face.

#maribat #college au #dickinette #fake marriage #mlb x dc

[bonbonbun-luna]

I hope you enjoy it! There is much more fluff with little Mari than salt, but I hope this is still good. At the end there are three drawings with Babynette. If you like it, I will write the second part with a detailed investigation of Lila from Sherlock. If you want to be tagged in this fic or in all my other future fics write about it!

The mystery of proper education

Mycroft Holmes was perfect in everything.

It was an indisputable truth, a fact, and almost a law. In the end, he personifies the British Government, being a perfect benchmark for everyone was his job.

Any business he undertook was carried out at the highest level, brushed to brilliance and presented with the most sophisticated chic. There was nothing Mycroft could not handle.

...Except, perhaps, one thing — he was a terrible nanny.

This fact was revealed to Holmes in childhood, when he was left with baby Sherlock. When Mycroft first saw the red little screeching lump, he was only about seven. There was no pinched soul of tenderness, a sudden awareness of kinship, or any other such nonsense. He looked at his younger brother with bewilderment and slight perplexity. The boy had no idea what to do with this screaming bundle.

However, Mycroft asked himself the same question even now, many years later, carrying a tiny Marinette in his arms. The chubby child, whom Holmes didn't hold very carefully by the armpits, looked at him with large blue-bell eyes, opening her small mouth, as if trying to express everything she thinks. However, whether she was able to even think at such an age was a mystery.

  The girl hiccuped and gleefully joyed, a thin strip of saliva flowed down her chin. Mycroft grimaced. Each time recalling how he ended up here, he wanted to strangle his sarcastic smirking brother.

The Cheng family had been familiar with the Holmes for quite some time, and mom adored inviting them to family evenings. At one of these evenings, the brothers met Sabina Cheng. She quickly liked Sherlock, sparkling with her smart eyes just like him. Boy never get tired of drawing her into troubles and all kinds of games, and she never get tired of helping him in them and listening to every rant in admiration. Over the years, they moved away, Cheng found herself in family life, and Sherlock chose to investigate people, but judging by the fact that Mycroft was now holding in his hands this thing, both actively maintained contact.

The older Holmes didn't have to wait long until his malicious brother suddenly began to talk at the Christmas dinner about Sabina's daughter and how Mycroft was definitely going to sit with her next weekend. Looking at his mother smiling happily and pulling a nervous smile in response, Mycroft vowed to destroy the petty bastard.

And now, as was said, he was left alone with this little blue-eyed monster. Of course, there was an option to call for a nanny, — even Anthea suggested it — but Mycroft was very responsible and carried out the work entrusted to him with all the best. Therefore, he stoically accepted the transfer of the child on his bail, despite the desire to strangle his malicious stupid brother.

«So», he began in a mentor tone, looking at the little thing that pulled toward him, «the first thing I will do when your parents and the nanny come back is to make them all realize how terrible my anger is. And then I'll say goodbye, and I will never see you again. Do you understand this?»

The child, joyfully yelling, only puffed up a bubble and clapped her hands in response. Stretching out his arms even more, holding the baby as far away from him as possible, Holmes identified her in the arena, where he was going to leave her from the very beginning, but as soon as he moved away more than three meters, there was a cry.

Moreover, she seemed to be mocking: as soon as he took a step further she began to sob, a step closer to her and she joyfully croaked and clapped her hands.

«I never agreed to become your clown», the man muttered through gritted teeth.

The little tyrant completely disagreed with this, and seemed to intend to get the desired attention. Mari looked at him with tremendous eyes for several seconds, as if waiting for him to come, but realizing that her new nanny was ignoring her, screamed.

Mycroft grimaced and began to approach the girl. She instantly fell silent and began to closely monitor him. When the man came very close, Netty giggled and joyfully pulled her hands to him. Holmes couldn't resist rolling his eyes.

Leaning toward the baby's face, he clearly pronounced, sharing words.

«I won’t take you in my arms, monster.»

The girl looked at him carefully, frowning at her nose, and then turned away, starting to play with the cubes. Feeling glee from victory, Mycroft was finally able to get to work. A few days ago, he decided that spending his precious time on such nonsense was simply stupid, and therefore, after weighing the pros and cons, he decided to work even in at such a difficult time so hard as possible. Therefore, having taken out several folders with the documentation from the diplomat, he settled down in his brother's chair and began reading, periodically calling up with Anthea and giving instructions.

Marinette played quietly in the arena, occasionally glancing at her nanny and becoming more upset with every second. Realizing that she was simply ignored, the girl decided to draw attention to herself.

After half an hour of work in silence, Holmes heard a methodical knock. Turning his head, the man saw how Netty calmly and with obvious pleasure hit the iron arena with a plastic cube. A fire of determination burned in her eyes, which man wanted to put out immediately. He took one cube from the girl. Second. Third. The last dice couldn't be taken — Mari threw it directly into her nanny's face in a fierce pant. Boiling with anger, Mycroft grabbed her shoulders and hissed softly.

«You will not do this. Not with me. And now immediately sit down like an obedient girl and try to fall asleep. Stop interrupting me.»

The bluenette silently blinked her huge eyes in complete silence and the man had already decided that the child sympathized with him and decided to calm down. He didn't know yet how much he was mistaken.

The girl’s lower lip quivered, small eyebrows moved to the bridge of her nose, and her eyes began to glisten sadly from grudges. Mari burst into tears. She howled loudly, plaintively stretching out the last note and sobbing frantically. Her face turned red, and the small hands clenched in fists, trying to hit the offender. Mycroft grimaced at a scream that seemed to even knock glass out of the windows.

«Little monster», the man muttered through his teeth and, slamming the folder, rose from his seat, wanting to calm the child as soon as possible.

Time for the elder Holmes flew by imperceptibly, but very noticeably. Two hours for which it would be possible to do a lot of things, solve critical issues, were spent on futile attempts to calm a frustrated child. When she finally calmed down, sniffing, struck seven evenings, which meant the time of feeding according to the schedule given to him. Mycroft was ready to howl, trying to realize that he had been wasting almost four hours.

«Marinette Dupain-Cheng», he turned to the child as seriously as possible, holding a spoonful of porridge in front of her, «Open your mouth. Right. Now.»

Mari stubbornly looked at the man, obviously not going to give up, and giggled, reaching for his spoiled jacket with her hands. Elder Holmes was pretty shabby, his hair lost its usual business look, an expensive jacket was stained with baby puree, and his face was crooked in the most suffering of all possible grimaces.

«Okay, you win», Mycroft closed his eyes and counted to himself to three, gathering his courage and stuffing the remnants of pride to hell, «Say “aah”», he held out and smiled wryly.

The girl trembled and sobbed her nose, starting to cry again.

«I hate children», breathed Holmes and hit his forehead against the countertop.

The girl was silent. A moment of blissful silence seemed to the man an eternity, for which he was ready to give all the blessings of the world. The indistinct meow from the child's side distracted him from contemplating the wood and, looking up at the girl with a tired look, asked:

« Are you satisfied? I see that you are. How should I feed you? Do you like airplanes?», Marinette flashed happy eyes, clapping her hands.

Mycroft sighed, thinking sadly about how he could get here.

«Okay, ahem», scooping up a new spoonful of porridge, Holmes took a serious look, «B-2 bomber, asking for permission to land, open the hangar»

Giggling and blushing joyfully, the girl opened her mouth and ate half the porridge from the spoon, letting the rest go down her chin.

«And who will they grow out of you at such a pace? Destruction of the whole nation?»

The man sighed and wiped her face with a napkin. The bluenette smacked her lips joyfully, smiling. Then things went a lot more fun, and Boeing F, Saab JAS 39 Gripen, Su-30MKI and many other combat vehicles were asked for permission to land. When Holmes realized that the girl had a serious love for the laws, things got even easier, especially under the recitation of the constitution.

Mycroft and Mari gradually moved to the sofa, where the man began to read the child a new bill and soon didn't notice how he fell asleep

÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷

The flick of the camera shutter didn't disturb either the child or the humble British government. Sherlock grinned sarcastically, hiding the dirt on his brother in his coat pocket.

Sabina and Tom smiled, looking at their happily sleeping daughter. The next day, a photo came to Mycroft's phone from which he had the opportunity to examine a pretty picture: disheveled and tired, in a dream he carefully holds Marinette, drooling on his jacket. The first thought was to strangle the brother. The second thought was the idea for a new victory. And the little Dupeng-Cheng actively participated in this idea. He grinned.

Sherlock looked bored at the wall, feeling a faint irritation.

John left a couple of hours ago, drove Rosie to school, Mrs. Hudson almost imperceptibly rustled below, preparing a new batch of cakes, and new interesting crimes never appeared.

The man gave nicotine patches with a disinterested look, a pale spot standing out on his skin. With a thoughtful grunt, the man got up from his beloved chair, thinking of taking a violin, when suddenly the buzz of the phone interrupted him.

Bending his head to one side, he quickly began combing the caller.

John forgot the phone today, Mycroft was sorting out a bunch of cases that had recently surfaced, Lestrade was actively trying to hide crimes from him (which weren't even worth Sherlock’s attention), Sabina said that they would have to participate in one of the Gala concerts, delivering their pastries, and she recently tried to find Marinette a nanny in that city, mom passed messages to him through his brother...

Sabina.

She said she would bring Mari for a short meeting, to talk about something with Mrs. Hudson. She was looking for a nanny due to the fact that Sherlock was going to plunge headlong into the work that day, where she strictly forbade him to take her daughter.

Apparently, it seems that the nanny canceled the plans at the last second and now woman agrees to anyone, who could take good care of her daughter.

At first she tried to call John, but apparently didn't get through, Mycroft wasn't even in the city, and Sherlock was the last hope.

He answered after the third beep.

«Next time I advise you to look for three people at once, who would agree to help. No, I'm not busy. No, I will not take her to investigate the crime, I din't have one. Yes, Mrs. Hudson is at home and yes, John is at work.»

After a short silence, a nervous voice rang out in the receiver.

«You really won't lead her to an investigation?»

«Really.»

«Oh, thank God. Sherlock, you are a lifesavior! I will bring her in an hour. You can’t imagine how much she wanted to see you. I hope this is not a problem, it’s so bad for me to leave her alone...», women's tone became softer and much calmer, a sigh of relief rang out in the tube.

«That's fine. We will definitely have fun.»

Sherlock hung up, peeling nicotine patches with cunning smile.

«After all, I never say anything about the morgue.»

÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷

Marinette has always been an interesting kid.

While almost everyone hated Holmes, considering him as an arrogant moron, it was almost impossible to find someone, who would take him for an ordinary person. Yes, he had John and Rosie and he was pleased with it, in the end, he never needed someone else's attention, only a mystery, but...

It was different.

They loved listen to his conclusions, admired his thinking, obviously enjoyed dangerous situations (Rosie totally has this genetic), but that was just that.

But Marinette?

She absorbed everything that he said, his every word, thinking, conclusion, like a sponge. She remembered his actions and carefully watched his every move, intrigued by someone interesting.

And when girl turned four, she came to visit them again, and then analyzed John with slight interest, easily describing the last three hours that he spent.

Holmes then watched her almost admiringly, learning all that he had ever shown the baby. It was his way of thinking and she happily used it. The girl proudly caught shocked looks, smiling sweetly at John, who was pale with fright, and not noticing suspiciously quiet Holmes.

She took Sherlock as an example and it was an invaluable, incomparable feeling.

The bluenette wasn't afraid of blood, listened with interest to lectures on the types of ashes, considered going to the morgue as holiday, and crimes as pies. She was stubborn, arrogant and damn smart.

And Sherlock could not deny that he involuntarily saw himself in her.

Smart, but lonely, she spent all days helping at the bakery and almost crying from boredom. Holmes will never allow himself to left her alone with this problem.

Grinning, the man shook his head, heading for the shower to wash off all the smell of nicotine. Sherlock had very little time left, he needed to get Hooper to find at least something remotely worthwhile.

He heard how Mrs. Hudson, who obviously overheard the conversation, quietly poking around in the kitchen. The woman adored Marinette and actively competed with the girl’s parents in baking, inventing new recipes. Rosie admitted that she was almost jealous, but it still didn't stop the younger Watson to eat cakes with pleasure.

After leaving the shower, he changed clothes and hastened to call Molly, hoping to arrange for Netty the best detective day that could be done.

In the end, the bored baby more than deserved a good unsolved crime.

Sherlock always knew what it is when your business is taken away from you, therefore he always delimited his care of Marinette from arrogance.

When the magical terrorist, named Hawkmoth appeared in Paris, and Marinette showed up as a Ladybug, he let it go.

They had a long confrontation, screams didn't subside either on Baker Street or in the bakery in Paris, but after seeing her resolute look a week later and hearing a firm voice, he let go of it.

It was not his battle, and she already had a hunch, so he gave her her first major crime.

When Chloe attacked her and stole the work, he let it go. The bluenette was strong and cunning, she won and he was proud.

When a new girl at school called herself her best friend and lied about a relationship with him, he let it go. Marinette instantly exposed her, forcing the little fox to tighten her tail and run away for several months.

When the same girl, Lila, threatened his niece, he let it go. Marinette knew what give priority to and instantly got rid of everyone, who easily threw her away.

But when Mari was loudly and shamefully kicked out of school without the slightest evidence, research and banal verification of facts, he could not let this go.

Sherlock arrived in Paris three days later, loud and arrogant, as always, ignoring the shocked looks that cast on him.

He conducted a maximum of research, didn't sleep at night, didn't eat or drink, but dug up all the dirt, that he could find on Rossi.

The little fox, who attacked everyone whom she considered even the slightest threat, never concealed evidence, confident that her charm and lies would be enough for everyone. Unfortunately, Sherlock was immune to such nonsense, relying on facts and himself. And he was sick of Lila Rossi.

In whatever school the Italian appeared, there was a major scandal, at the end of which many of her “bullies” suddenly tragically ended up either completely alone, afraid of every person around them, or did not endure stress and passed away.

This parody of the investigation finally convinced Holmes that all people are idiots. It took him three days to collect at twenty schools, in which a small liar ever was, such huge folders of evidence that not one of them could fit on the table. And when he, with his usual disinterested face, threw these folders in front of the nose of the Italian government, the man could not help but grin.

A resentful Marinette shouted at him from the phone, that “she could have dealt with everything herself”, and a fire broke out behind him out of anger and frustration.

He was Sherlock Holmes.

And he had his own ways of raising children.

#mlb #ml #ml au #ml crossover #ml season 3 #ml salt #lila salt #sherlock #parentlock #parent!sherlock #sherlock au #mlb salt #ml fluff #mlb au #mlb fluff #marinette defense squad #marinette dupain cheng #marinette #marinette deserves better #marinette dupen chang

[fandom-queenliness]

Day 12: Disapproval

What’d I miss? 

This is in fact dedicated in honour of the wonderful @knoxursoxoffpenwriter69! Go check them out!!! Their art and writing is literally amazing!!!!!

@felinettenovember

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Félix glared at Marinette from his seat, back straight, hands folded, face set into hard, sharp lines.

Marinette met his gaze as she slid into her seat, giving him a mocking smile to cover her nerves.

Oh she knew, she knew why he was glaring at her like that.

And it had everything to do with yesterday afternoon.

She landed in her room, falling onto her bed as Tikki’s magic disappeared, grinning and flushed after an akuma. The battle had been a whirlwind, and she’d needed to be quick, quick and fast and focused, but they’d done it in no time. Now she could prepare for her study session with—

“Marinette?”

She bolted upright, staring down at Félix in horror.

He had seen Ladybug enter, and Marinette appear.

He knew.

Félix stared back at her, his long legs folded beneath him, books spread out on the floor, prepared for studying. He was early.

“Félix,” she said, feeling numb and flustered at once. “Please, you can’t tell anyone—”

“You’re Ladybug,” he whispered. The words echoed through her room.

She flinched away from them, from the danger he was now in. “Yes, and it needs to be a secret.” She slipped down from her loft, Tikki floating behind her cautiously. He scrambled to stand up, his gaze never leaving her. Marinette felt her heart squeeze.

She trusted Félix, with her entire being, she trusted him, but all she could think of was his body, broken before Hawkmoth. His beautiful silver eyes empty. Him, hurt, because of her.

He knew, he knew, he knew.

“You’re Ladybug,” Félix repeated, the shock fading from his voice. “You’re the one saving this city. Fighting for us.”

Marinette stopped her approach, stunned from the venom and disgust in his voice. She had never thought he would be so… angry it was her.

Surprised, shocked, stunned.

Never angry.

“Yes, I’m Ladybug.” She lifted her chin higher, trying to summon her courage, the confidence she felt in her bones as she flew across the city.

“The hero.” He said softly, too softly. “The first and last line of defence. You.”

Rage, born from fear and panic of his anger, flamed her blood. She had fought for years for this city, for him. His petty disapproval meant nothing to her.

“Yes, me,” She spat. “I was chosen. To be Ladybug, to protect this city. I am the hero of Paris. Surprised?” Her hands were shaking, out of fury or fear. Was she losing him?

Félix laughed, and it sounded deranged. He looked furious, disbelieving, disapproving. “I can’t believe—you were—chosen, you were chosen for this. What cruel person would do this—”

“Marinette is a perfect Ladybug!” Tikki spoke up, her voice carrying all the ancient rage Marinette had never heard. “She was chosen because she is worthy and capable. How dare you—”

“I can’t—I don’t—chosen—you.” Félix shook his head. “You. Marinette, Ladybug. Fighting. Saving people. In the thick of danger. Our hero.”

There was disdain in his voice. She was thrown back, to every time she was belittled by Chloe, by bullies. For being too shy, too clumsy, too small, too distracted and quiet and loud and emotional.

Marinette’s eyes stung.

She had never thought he would be so disgusted with her as Ladybug. He had never held her faults against her. But the way he was looking at her—all she saw was everyone who had ever put her down.

“Marinette.”

Félix reached out, to touch her shoulder, to do something, but all she saw was red.

He didn’t believe in her. He didn’t trust her to be a hero.

He knew and found her lacking.

“Disappointed?” She hissed, stepping away from his hand. He snatched it back like she burned him. “Poor Félix, so shocked and mislead.

“What?” he barked. Anger burned in his face. “Don’t play games, you know what I’m—”

A buzzing filled her ears. She smiled at him, shoving back the tears, the hurt. Letting her betrayed “Are you upset that it’s me? Just plain, clumsy Marinette!”

She threw her hands up. “Are you surprised that I’m the one left bleeding and bruised after every fight saving this city? That I am the one who has sacrificed everything, again and again, to do my duty?”

Félix growled, and she took a taunting step closer, blinking up at him mockingly.

“Are you angry I’m the one chosen? Angry that I was picked for this? Do you think I’m going to slip up?”  

She shoved him, spiralling down into—hate, anger, panic. She didn’t know. She couldn’t feel anything but the intensity of these feelings. Félix stepped back, glaring down at her.

“Are you angry it’s me?” She asked, sticking her finger in his face. “Are you furious? Are you disgusted?”

Marinette wanted to scream at him, to deal him a blow like the one he had given her. “Do you hate it?”

She grinned, baring her teeth. “Do you disapprove?”

“Yes.” He snapped back. “I disapprove that you are on the front lines. I disapprove. I don’t like it. I don’t like this.” He gestured at her, at Tikki. “I hate it. I hate that you are Ladybug. I hate that it is you. You of all people. Out of everyone, in this whole city, you had to be chosen—”

“Get out,” she breathed. Her body shuddered—from pain, from hurt. “GET OUT.”

Félix said nothing as he gathered up his books, shoving them into his bag. She watched him, keeping her fists clenched. He stormed past her to the trapdoor.

He hesitated, hovering uncertain, half in, half out. “Marinette—”

“Goodbye.”

He closed the door.

“Is everything alright with you and mister grumpy?” Alya leaned over when class was finished, concerned. Marinette couldn’t look at her. Would she react the same?

“An argument. I don’t want to talk about it,” Marinette replied. But it hurt, like an ache in every cell of her body. It felt wrong to not be okay with him, to not feel that warmth. It felt like her lungs were ripped apart, her heart a beat off, her blood a fraction too cold.

Alya leaned back, considering her words. “It seems like he does.” She jerked her chin to Félix. Marinette didn’t turn. “Maybe you two should discuss it when you aren’t both so mad.”

‘I hate that you are Ladybug.’

Marinette crumpled her hand into a fist. “There’s nothing left to say.”

She had been ignoring Félix too well it seems. She hadn’t even noticed when he came up beside her as she walked home and grabbed her elbow.

For a moment, first instinct was to turn and swing at whoever had grabbed her.

Then she recognised the weight of the hand, the smell of clean paper and ink.

It set a fire in her heart before she stamped it out.

“What do you want?” she demanded, pulling her arm away. Gods, it hurt to see him, see the lines and planes of his arm as it fell from her.

Félix’s face was a mask, the only emotion she could see was determination. “To talk.”

“We already talked. You made your opinion clear. Now leave.”

His lips pursed a fraction. A crack in the mask. “Please, Marinette—”

“No. You told me what you thought. You told me many times. I—” Warmth grew behind her eyes. Tears. “—I don’t need to hear it again.”

He took a step forward. “I don’t think you understand what I was saying.”

Bastard, bastard for making this hurt. Bastard for doing this again. “Insulting my intelligence?  Why am I surprised. Was yesterday not enough?” She turned away, even though she knew they weren’t done, even though she knew he would—

Félix grabbed her hand, squeezing it lightly. Just as she knew he would, as she played the part to make him touch her again.

“I want to explain,” he pleaded. The emotion behind his voice made her pause.

He’s your friend, you love him, a part of her whispered. Her heart.

“Fine.”

Marinette led him home, let him follow her to her room. Better to do it on her own terms, in a place where she had some control.

She stood in the centre of the room, glaring at Félix. “Talk.”

He watched her warily. “Where’s the… thing. That floated.”

“My kwami. Tikki’s in my bag. She’s asleep.”

Félix nodded; lips turned down in the corner. He didn’t look inclined to start speaking.

But Marinette was tired, and every moment in the same room with him made her hurt just a little bit more. “You have three minutes.”

“Yesterday… yesterday I was shocked,” Félix told her. He wouldn’t look in her direction. “You just—hurtled in, as Ladybug. And then you were Marinette. And then I knew you were Marinette.”

“I was there too. No need for a recap,” she snapped.

Félix sighed, starting to pace. “For one moment, I was shocked. Trying to reconcile you and her. The hero and my friend. It took less than a second.” He gave a mockery of a laugh. “How could it not? Both brave, both so clever, both so similar. It was easy to accept.”

He stopped and looked at her. “Then I was mad.”

Her heart strained. “Félix.”

“I was mad. I was furious. Nothing had ever made me lose my head so much. I couldn’t think of anything else. I’m still mad.”

Please, don’t say anymore, she silently begged him, don’t tell me why you hate it’s me.

Félix’s eyes were big—so big and honest. She couldn’t look away.

“But I’m angry, Nette, not because—” he growled, clenching his hands tight. “Not because—"

“Please,” she whispered, cutting him off. Never had she felt so small. “Don’t.”

Félix ran a hand through his hair. “No, Nette. I’m not angry because I think you’re aren’t good as Ladybug. I’m angry—I’m angry because it’s you.”

Marinette shook her head. I don’t understand. It just hurts. It hurts so much.

Félix took a step towards her, cautiously, nervously. She stayed still. “When I realised it was you, I remembered all the times Ladybug has been hurt. All the danger she is in, every day, every fight. I remembered all the times she was thrown into a wall or hurt or beaten down. And then—then it wasn’t just a hero, it was you.

“My dearest friend. Who brought light and joy to my life. You were getting thrown into the line of fire every single time. And it—it killed me Nette.”

Oh.

Félix took another step forward. “It killed me to know that it was you. To know that you were getting hurt. You were in the thick of danger. You are always at risk!” His face was heartbreaking. She was breaking with it.

“I was just—I couldn’t think.” He was close enough to touch now. Close enough to see the desperation in his face. “I couldn’t think with all his rage. Your words—they didn’t land. To know you were getting hurt, to know that it was you, it drove me insane. I said horrible things, and I didn’t even realise that you would think I meant something else until today.”

She wanted to hold him. She wanted to reassure him, but he kept talking, words fast and pleading.

“I didn’t mean to hurt you, to make you think that I—that I didn’t believe in you.” He shook his head, a little smile on his lips. “Gods, I couldn’t think of anyone better for being a hero. You’re incredible. You’re a hero.”

Joy, joy filled Marinette. He doesn’t hate it. He’s glad it’s me. The ache was fading, and all she wanted to do was laugh for joy that he wasn’t leaving.

“But I was angry you were chosen for this.” Félix gripped his hair, tugging on it. Her hands reached out to pull them away—to make him stop punishing himself—but they dropped before she could.

“I was mad someone picked you, specifically to face these villains with no end in sight. That someone I love so much was in so much danger that I—”

Love, love, love, love. The word pounded through her blood.

Félix struggled to find words, to choke them out. “I’m—I—”

He lowered his head, eyes closed.

“I’m sorry,” Félix murmured brokenly. “I’m sorry that I was so cruel. I’m sorry I made you think I disapproved you being Ladybug. I’m sorry I was an idiot who couldn’t use his words properly.”

Tears slipped down his cheeks, and they made her hands wet as she lifted his face to hers. Grey met blue as their breath mingled.

“I forgive you,” she whispered, pulling him into a hug. “And I love you too. I really hope you don’t mean platonically.”

He laughed, broken and wet against her neck. “I love you. Romantically. Please never get hurt again.”

Gods, he knew how to make her heart ache.

She pulled back and leaned her forehead against his, closing her eyes against the pain, the agony in his voice.

“I can’t promise that,” she told him softly. “But I can promise to do my best. That’s all I can do, Félix.”

He sighed, and it tickled her lips.

“That’s enough,” he said, their noses brushing. “From you Marinette, anything is enough.”

There was nothing left to say, so she said nothing. Just held him close, her promise between them. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

#felinette #fanon!felix #ml felix #felinette november #felinette month