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Adrien wasn’t sure exactly what it was that made Marc and Nathaniel ask them to go on a double date. The artist-writer duo had just adopted their first child a while ago (an shy and kind 14-year old named Yvette), but considering Marinette and him had yet to become parents, it wasn’t exactly as if the two could offer advice.
“Is them asking us to come with them suspicious to you, My Lady?” he asked Marinette.
“Not really. It’s a double date, and even though there’s a new threat to Paris (
Grizzled Skipper was their name, apparently)
, we know it’s not your dad.” At that she paused nervously; Adrien may have moved on from his father’s reveal as a Moth user, but she still worried for him sometimes. Papilio (who turned out to be from a parallel universe and had to go back to fight his villains; Marinette wished they could have helped him) and the other heroes had helped him from their meeting day, and they still had his back now.
“Besides,” she laughed, quickly trying to put the darker days behind them, “what’s the worst that could happen?”
People really need to learn to stop asking that.
Eventually, the two sets of lovers met up; greetings and whatnot exchanged, they found their seats at the cafe Nathaniel had advised and ordered.
From the beginning, it seemed that Adrien’s hunch didn’t look unfounded. It was clear that something was on the gentlemen’s minds. Finally, the former Chat Noir had enough of beating around the bush.
In a somewhat impatient manner, the newest Dupain-Cheng (
he was still ecstatic about that fact
) inquired, “Okay, something’s not good, guys. What did you call us for?”
Despite the initial flinching, Marc and Nathaniel recovered quickly, and it was Marc (writers are always better with words) that first whispered “It’s a long story. To make it short, we think Yvette is Murilega Exitii, and since we figured out you were Chat Noir and Ladybug-”
Before the two could react too much, Nathaniel quietly added in, “-don’t worry, we swear on our honor that we didn’t tell anyone other than each other-”
Starting again, Marc continued by saying “...so we thought you’d have the best advice for us.”
Marinette and Adrien sat in shocked silence for a while. They managed to recover eventually, and it was Marinette who first asked “How did you figure us out?”
Blushing, Marc replied that Adrien had given them an autograph a few years back as Chat Noir, and one day the writer had caught a glimpse of his handwriting in Art Club. The two matched perfectly, so Marc went and snooped around, eventually catching his transformation one day.
Impressed but suspicious, Adrien queried, “Why didn’t you confront me?”
After hesitation, Marc explained.
“...you were still under Gabriel’s thumb at the time, and I figured you didn’t need more stress than you already had. After that, it escaped my mind until recently.”
Nathaniel added in, “I don’t remember how I found out. When Muri appeared, we squealed to each other about you two. We’re sorry about that…”
Exchanging a glance at each other that spoke a language only Marinette and Adrien would ever be able to understand, the two told the others they didn’t need an apology.
“Just do your best for Yvette. Let her get where she needs to go, and always have her back.”
“Should we reveal that we know?”
Mulling it over, Adrien spoke up, advising them that, “That’s your decision.”
It wasn’t long after that Mari and Adrien paid for everyone’s dinner, then made their way home.
“Plagg, I think my parents are onto me…”
“Eh, it’ll be okay. Besides, I bet they’ll have your back no matter what.”
“Are you sure?”
“We do, sweetie. What else would you expect?”
“Meep!”
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Honestly, Marc had just wanted to go to the show and practice his writing skills with the inspiration; but because Hawkmoth was the equivalent to the No Fun Allowed Robot (not that he’d ever dare tell the supervillain that - he was more than content to let the superheroes handle the problem), he got stuck hiding from Anansi.
“I feel you, kid,” spoke a voice in Marc’s head, “but remember that you’re putting a lot on us.”
It turned out to be Papilio, who needed a Champion for facing the spider-themed villainess. Marc was normally shy and timid, sure,but that wasn’t what made him want to refuse.
“I’m not going to be good enough. There’s no way I’ll be of any use anyway. What if I fail?”
“...can you keep a secret?”
Interest piqued, Marc promised to do so.
“Ladybug expresses those same worries a lot. Y’all do put her on quite the pedestal.”
“Really? Wow…”
“Yeah, but don’t tell her I told you. She’d be furious at me!”
“I did say I would keep that a secret.”
“Good! But here i’m going with this is if she can pull it off all the time…”
Taking the hint, Marc agreed.
“Then I hope Anansi doesn’t mind us cutting in,
mi Bible
.”
Armed with enough magically-created paper to represent a forest, the newly-powered Biblus aided Ladybug and Chat Noir against Anansi. It was still tough, mind you - despite all the paper-made projectiles raining down on the arachnid akuma, she managed to last quite the while before Chat landed a lucky blow on her headgear.
Once Marc was Marc once more, Ladybug and Chat thanked him & left. Alya took off - family came before the blog in this case - but Nino, who had been there, noticed Marc staring after Ladybug.
Walking up to the brunet, Nino got his attention by asking, “Aren’t you dating Nathaniel?”
With an ever-so-surprised jump, Marc whirled around to face the DJ. He gave a surprisingly quick response, “Uh, yeah! It’s just that I realized something that's... important about Ladybug.”
“What is it?” responded Nino, curious. Maybe Papilio had revealed something of importance which Alya might freak out about if she learned it.
“Oh, it’s nothing I actually know. Did you ever wonder if we put Ladybug and Chat on a pedestal?”
“What do you mean?”
“Like with Adrien, we treat them like they’re invincible. At the end of the day, there are people behind those masks, right? We should help them in any way we can!”
“Wouldn’t staying out of the way be that ‘best way?’”
“I’d been thinking about that, and maybe we should…”
The two walked off, discussing the pain that their heroes probably went through. All three heroes - Ladybug, Chat Noir and even Papilio, who never fought anyone in person but was rumored to be a major worrywart over the former two - deserved better than what they actually got.
From the top of a building, Papilio observed the two boys.
Maybe,
he thought to himself,
maybe someday they will display the potential to be heroes like us. For all I know,
he laughed as he left for his home,
they actually might be wielders in the waiting.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Nathaniel truly loved Marc
When he learned the truth
Everything was well
Marc loved Nathaniel
When they put their comics out to the world
Well-received was an understatement
Sure, there were haters, but at the end of the day
Friends and colleagues alike loved their work
They were unstoppable
Whether romantic, occupational or some other plight
Marc had Nathaniel’s back, and Nathaniel the same
People called their relationship “the second LadyNoir”
When Red met Black
It was beautiful
First Ladybug and Chat Noir, then their alter egos (not that anyone knew)
Those two were the third power couple of Paris
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
“Marinette, don’t let go!”
“My grip is loosing! Come on!”
Ever so slightly, Marinette’s hand slipped, and Marc fell into the mysterious green pipe.
“NO,” cried the writer’s old friend, and in a rash decision, he jumped in after her.
This is why plumbing was a bad choice for a side job,
lamented Marinette, and then everything went black.
When Marc and Marinette woke up in a beautiful grassland area, they found the oddest set of things ahead of them (once the shock had worn off). In the distance stood a beautiful-looking castle, but it appeared to be a far ways off.
“Well, looks like we’re going for a walk.” Marinette uttered.
“Are you crazy?” Marc shockedly replied. “We don’t know what’s out there!”
“A castle means people, Marc. Maybe they know how to get us home.”
“...alrighty. Let’s go.”
Nobody seemed to be around the route there, which turned out to be rather short. When they got close, they found a castle, which was full of different people and even a few humanoids (at this point, the two weren’t even surprised) mulling around and doing assorted things.
When they arrived in the town, a young couple around their age noticed the two “travelers” rushed up to them almost immediately. Introducing themselves as Adrien and Nino, they asked where the two where they were from.
“Uhh… do you know where Paris is?” was all Marc could reply.
Adrien’s eyes bugged out.
“You’re from Paris?”
“...yes?” “Than you probably know the Creation Crew!”
“The who, now?”
“These two people showed up out of nowhere one day when we’d been - well, it’s better that we just take you to them. Come with us!”
With that, the raven-haired duo were dragged off to meet these so-called heroes.
Meeting the King of what was apparently called Miracle Town was interesting. A portly old man greeted them with great kindness and hospitality.
The story of the Creation Crew was far more interesting. King Andre told them of how about half a year ago, a wicked sorcerer named Hawkmoth had kidnapped his daughter Chloe and an older couple he couldn’t remember the name of at the moment, taking them to his castle in the so-called “Akuma Kingdom.”
Like angels from the heavens, a young girl and boy had shown up out of nowhere (they now knew these heroes were also Parisians) and offered to take this Hawkmoth down for no pay (though they were given a place to live and all that later anyway). With powers given to them by his head magician, they had defeated Hawkmoth, dropping him in a pool of dark lava.
Andre had just finished his story when two people rushed up to him, catching the three’s attention. One had orange-red armor, and with other details fitting the bill, Marinette quickly found herself blushing at a fox-themed guard.
On the other side of the newcomers’ stick, Marc was near-instantly attracted to a young man his age that looked like a artist-superhero fusion. Decked out in a rainbow-striped shirt, mostly-red hair and black beret, it was clear that these two were something else. They must be the Creation Crew!
Serious but slightly panicked, the girl interrupted their thoughts by shouting, “Sir, Hawkmoth’s forces were seen near Miracle Town!”
“What?! You said he was dead!” the king cried, and not much later, the wall to their left exploded, and an airship made of dark lepidopteran creatures stood outside, a purple-suited gentleman stood at its tip.
“BOURGEOIS,” he roared, “YOU KNOW THE DEAL!”
“Can’t you find another way to find love again, Gabriel?” the regent sputtered.
“First of all,” the villain angrily replied, “I am Hawkmoth, not Gabriel, and I will be so until Emilie returns to me. Second of all, you owe me more coins than you can pay back right now, so your daughter will have to be payment.”
At this he stepped aside, revealing a blonde girl and what Marc presumed to be the aforementioned older couple in a cage. The bars were easy enough to slip through, but with the creatures and their boss himself nearby, there wasn’t much they could do but stay on Hawkmoth’s good side.
“Goodbye, Andre.” snarled the supervillain, turning the ship around and flying off.
Immediately, the two guards gave chase, taking off for King Andre’s ship.
In yet another uncharacteristically rash decision, Marc resolutely offered his and Marinette’s help in taking Hawkmoth down.
“He won’t stop then, and he won’t stop now! Do you have powers?”
“No, but I noticed something.” “What?”
“He had a jeweled brooch on his lapel. Do you think that’s the source of his power?”
Andre thought for a moment, and gasped.
“That probably is! I’ll get you aid at once!”
As Andre scrambled off, presumably to get the previously mentioned magician, Marc noticed Marinette had sunk to her knees. Worried, he took off to comfort the ravenette.
“Is everything okay? I mean, that was freaky, but we can get through him with the powers-”
“It’s not that. Did you see the man and woman in that cage?”
“Yeah. Now that I think about it, that woman looked sort of like…”
A few saddening beats passed in silence.
“...oh.”
Marinette had lost her parents when she was young. They had just disappeared, and Marinette had assumed they’d been killed or abandoned her. Marc’s parents had taken her in; now that she knew the truth, she stood up resolutely.
“I’m with you, Shyguy.”
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
In the lives of Nathaniel and Marc, there would be multiple times that the redhead made his partner blush so hard you’d have thought a gnome took a paddle to his cheeks.
The first few times were on the fateful day when the two had met. It was love at first sight, something straight out of a fairy-tale. It also wasn’t helpful that Nathaniel had been coming out of his shell more lately (a surprising side effect of Evillustrator).
The next time was during “Heroes’ Day,” as the public had taken to calling it. As neither of them had been akumatized again, Nathaniel and Marc had joined the civilian resistance. At one point, Nathaniel had seen one akuma coming up behind Marc and punched them in the face. Disgruntled, the villain left in search of either assistance or an easier target. Still recovering, Marc just stared at his crush. The ginger just smiled and flashed him a peace sign.
God, I want to kiss him,
Marc thought, but when he saw Nathaniel turn redder than his hair, only the final defeat of the akumas ended the shock between the two.
Before the young writer could leave in embarrassment, however, he was interrupted by a kiss from his comic partner.
This could be seen as a happy ending to the story, but stories never really end, do they?
There would be many more blushes, some from Marc and some from Nathaniel, but everything would be okay.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
“Hey, gut har, ” said Fintster Kiti, meeting who was supposed to be his new partner in front of Cheffe Chef’s hideout as planned. The Black Cat wielder had been leading the other of the two akuma that had terrorized Paris(a greaser-themed villainess entitled Bad Girl) around, splitting the two. Having defeated the latter of the two evils (who turned out to be the local kids’ TV weathergirl Mireille, who had been played with by yet another of those “nice guys”), the only target left was the akumatized Marlena Césaire.“So what’s your name, sweets?” asked Kiti.In a decently receptive manner to the flirting, the Ladybug wielder replied, “Um… help me defeat these villains, and how about we find out?”This time, the blush appeared on Kiti’s face. Sure enough, Cheffe Chef was quickly and thoroughly defeated, and even after a confrontation with the villainess behind everything (Mothwoman, she had called himself), the two new heroes protected the city.“So what’s your name?” inquired Rose, who had talked of writing a novel about these two heroes’ exploits.“I’m Fintster Kiti. It’s spelled F, I…” Kiti would have continued, but a quiet yet confident voice interrupted him.“The name is Gent. Spotted Gent. Let’s be heroes, Kiti.”
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
It all started on the first of February, when Marc found the letter on the educationally alleviating Friday.
It was red, and contained a drawing of a Charizard on it
. Marc knew right away that this was a love letter - he’d seen too many stories for it to be otherwise.
Sure enough, this romantic letter stated that:
If someone were to hurt you, then I would make them fall,
I don’t need any Pokemon - with you I’ve caught them all.
- M. Biv
Whoever wrote this knew Marc was a sucker for Pokemon. Oh dear.
This time, however, the writer decided to let this “M. Biv” (
who even has that last name
) come to him. Not that anyone had ever sent him a love letter before.
Two days after the red letter showed up, Marc received
an orange letter with a Teddiursa drawn on it at home. It also had a teddy bear too (sadly, it was a
normal
one, not the Pokemon).
Marc quietly laughed at his unintentional pun before reading the words:
About you I do care, our love would forever fare,
And it is true that losing you isn’t something I could bear.
- M. Biv
This time when Marc blushed, it wasn’t out of the usual embarrassment.
All right, M. Biv,
he thought,
now you’ve got my attention.
He’d asked all the teachers he could if there was a male student with the last name of Biv on Monday. He’d had no luck, sadly, but when he returned to his locker to pack up before he went home, the third letter stood there. With
a bright but not tackily-so yellow coloring, the letter contained a Jirachi drawing. A beautiful star-shaped stone was also tied to it by a yellow ribbon.
When Marc got over the shock of it (and stopped blushing), he read it quickly, taking great care not to break the lovely piece.
Darling, if you were to make a wish, I’d do my greatest
To grant you heart’s desire and blow you away like a Tornadus!
- M. Biv
Flattered but still in deep thought, Marc wondered if the Legendary would be on a later card. Whatever of, he’d also received information from that stone: whoever was flirting with him was rich.
It couldn’t be Adrien; while he was pan, he was dating Marinette, Alya, and Nino, and unless they wanted Marc to join them (which he doubted), it probably wasn’t him.
Chloe was dating Sabrina and Kagami, and he’d heard rumors that they were thinking about adding Juleka’s brother in, which would mean their attention was on the guitarist. Besides, she was in their SAPIC (Social And Political Issues Club), and she hadn’t given him much attention from it. Not even a blush that told him anything.
There were no other people he could think of that could afford a jewel this pricey (he’d admittedly looked it up), so the question still stood…
Who was it?
Wednesday came by, and while there wasn’t anything expensive (not that the young Anciel was fixated on something for loaded folks), the
green Yanmega-adorned letter had a bunch of bells-of-ireland, as well as a poem about how
M. Biv’s
luck was really good if they had met Marc.
On that Friday, Marc learned that he’d come close with the thoughts about Tornadus. The
blue letter had two Thundurus on it (one in each Forme), and it contained a Hug Coupon for “days blue as rain
.”
Biv had stated that he’d be there for Marc anyway, but hey, it’s the thought that counts.
Saturday contained
two letters - one with an indigo Noivern, the other with a purple Naganadel (there was a difference, apparently)
. It had no gifts, but to Marc’s was informed that
M. Biv
would show up on Valentine’s Day.
Marc, who had recruited Juleka, Rose, and the other girls to help him, was ecstatic, and went to tell them immediately.
He would have noticed “M. Biv” barely making an escape if he’d paid more attention.
Marc didn’t know what to expect out of M. Biv, but Nathaniel was certainly one of the folks he hoped it would be.
Years later, Marc and his husband would be at home when the dark-haired author yelped and smacked his head.
Nathaniel rushed to his side immediately, asking what was wrong. Marc just whirled around, and in that jokingly angry way that people have, responded:
“YOUR NAME ISN’T ROY!”