Archive of Our Own ^beta

It had been three days since the blizzard that had buried Paris. Roads were still icy and people were still struggling to get around. Ladybug and Chat Noir were on patrols and delivery runs almost constantly. They wanted to recruit other heroes, but most of them were snowed in with their families, making it harder to keep their identities a secret. If you're stuck at home with your family, you don't have much of an excuse if you suddenly disappear.

Luckily, they knew there were two people who were snowed in together and wouldn't mind helping them out.

"The green lids are vegan, and the blue are gluten free. There are also bottles of water and juice in there," Phoenix explained as he handed the last of the delivery boxes to Mr Damocles- I mean, The Owl. He was decked out in his full Owl attire, with the addition of a fluffy white scarf around his neck.

"Just leave it to me, Sir Phoenix! I'll make sure all the food gets delivered to people who need it," he stacked the boxes behind him in the lobby of the apartment building before turning back to salute the young hero.

"Thank you, but you don't have to call me sir," Phoenix scratched the back of his hair, feeling awkward about his principal treating him as a superior.

"Oh, but I insist! You know what they say about birds of a feather! Hoo-hoo!" The Owl hooted as he performed his signature pose. He looked so pleased with himself, which he should be considering he was helping out a lot of people.

"Cocorico!" Phoenix echoed, performing a makeshift pose of holding his hands to the sides and throwing his head back. He quickly leaped away to the rooftops, feeling a little embarrassed, completely missing the look of admiration given to him from The Owl.

Phoenix did a scan of the nearby streets as he opened his talon communicator to check in with the others on the group call. The little illustrations of Ladybug, Chat Noir and Oviseer lit up as each of them spoke.

"I just finished the last delivery. All the supplies have been delivered to the affected areas."

"I managed to get everyone out of that building with the burst water main. They're safe, but they won't have homes for a while."

"Don't worry. I convinced Mayor Bourgeois to house them in his hotel. Took a bit of purr-suasion, but he agreed in the end."

"Great work, everyone. It looks like things are calming down a little. Phoenix, Oviseer, meet me at this location so I can retrieve your Miraculous. I might be a bit delayed..."

Ladybug's voice through the communicator was cut off by a man screaming.

"Are you okay? Do you need us to help?" Oviseer's voice was filled with concern.

"I'm alright! Everything's under control!"

Phoenix looked up as he heard screeching tires in the next arrondissement, followed by a soft thud and cheers coming through his communicator. With a shrug, he closed the panel and started heading for the meeting point.

He could never get used to the rush of being a hero with a Miraculous. The energy and strength it gave him was so freeing; the feeling of the wind in his hair as he dashed over the rooftops, his steps light and swift. Phoenix flipped over a row of trees and slid along a frozen path, using his taloned boots to slow himself down while creating a spray of powdered snow in his wake. Once he came to a stop, he stretched his arms over his head with a satisfied sigh, walking into the little alcove of hedges to wait for the others.

He didn't have to wait long, as he quickly saw two figures approaching from the snow-capped rooftops. The sleek black material of Chat Noir's suit stood out against the chilled white clouds and snow, as did the soft greys of Oviseer's costume. As they landed in the alcove, Chat Noir reached over to playfully mess Oviseer's hair.

"Great job with the evacuations. Between this and finding the lost kid, you're really doing a lot for everyone!"

"It's not everyday that I get to be a superhero, so I want to help out as much as I can." Oviseer chuckled and playfully batted the cat hero's hand away.

"Just don't overdo it, alright? You need your downtime too." He nodded as Oviseer walked over to Phoenix, greeting him with a fist bump and a quick kiss. They refrained from making their hero personas' relationship publicly known in case Hawkmoth used that information against them. But Chat Noir knew they were dating, and nobody was more supportive of their relationship. The cat hero had his hands clasped together over his chest as he adored the couple, although the motion quickly turned into huddling himself against the cold as an icy wind swept over them.

"Brrr... it's freezing! How are you guys okay?"

Phoenix gestured to his feathered vest, while Oviseer held up his wool cloak. They both chuckled as Chat Noir pouted and extended his staff to the ground, preparing to vault away.

"This kitten's going to curl up by a nice fireplace. Catch you guys next time!"

"See you later!"
"Take care!"

Chat Noir waved as he extended his staff, propelling himself up onto a roof before starting to race home between the chimneys. It was only a moment later that Ladybug swooped down and landed in a roll on the snowy ground.

"Ladybug, what happened before? Is everyone okay?" Oviseer asked, nervously fiddling with his crook.

"There's a delivery truck in a snowbank, but the driver is fine and all the supplies were saved. Where's Chat?"

"He's gone to warm himself by a fire," Phoenix looked over his shoulder at the last place he saw the cat hero. "So, time to clock out?"

Ladybug nodded and held out her hands to take the Miraculous back when the two of them detransformed.

"Orikko, hit the hay."

"Ziggy, fleece off."

As the Rooster kwami left the Miraculous, Phoenix' bright orange suit turned back into Nathaniel's winter attire. He was wearing a sleek purple jacket and grey jeans, and knee high black boots. He also had a monochrome checkered scarf wrapped around his neck, warm black gloves and a white cable knit bobble hat.

Oviseer's woolen cloak vanished as he transformed back into Marc. He was also dressed for the weather in a red jacket lined with white fleece, and his distressed blue jeans had black patches under the holes. He also opted for knee high lace up boots, although the laces were elastic because honestly who can be bothered adjusting boot laces through 32 separate eyelets.

Most notably, Marc was wearing the exact same hat, scarf and gloves as Nathaniel. Ever since they started dating, one of them would often float the idea of wearing something matching whenever they went out together. Winter was the best time simply due to all the warm accessories people layered up with during the colder months. The black gloves were the latest addition, being part of Marc's Christmas gift that year.

The hats and scarves were two for one sales that looked cute at the time. And honestly, they still did.

They took a moment to bond with their kwamis again before they handed the Miraculous back to Ladybug, who stored them safely in her yo-yo until the next time they were needed.

"You sure you guys don't need a lift home? I could get both of you there pretty quickly."

"It's not too far to walk. Besides, people are already going to be asking questions about how two heroes turned up at my apartment building, and then four heroes left." Marc took a second to warm his hands in his new gloves. Ladybug looked like she was trying to stifle a smile for some reason, although he didn't notice.
"And we should probably grab some supplies while we can. Especially if we're going to be snowed in again, right Nath-"

Marc turned to check on Nathaniel, and immediately threw his hands up in defense as his boyfriend threw a loosely packed snowball at him, showering him in frost. The silence that followed allowed Marc to hear the little giggle that came from Nathaniel, which turned into a nervous laugh as Marc grinned and scooped up some more snow in his gloves, chasing him out of the park.

"Stay warm, boys!" Ladybug laughed as she watched them leave.

The snowfight was short-lived; they didn't want to stay out too long and Marc cheated by tackling Nathaniel into a snow pile. So after taking some time to huddle together for warmth, they were having a quick coffee stop at a place that was still open.

"Look, there are no rules in a snowfight," Marc pointed out, resting his head on his hand with his elbow propped on the table.

"Yes there are. And you broke the one about no contact," Nathaniel had a sip of his coffee while trying to look upset. It was impossible to hide the little sparkle in his eyes though.

"You say that like you're mad about it. Who was the one who held us down in the snow for a while?" Marc looked down into his hot chocolate with a wry little smile. Nathaniel reached up to push Marc's knitted hat down over his eyes. Then they both laughed as they set down their drinks, and Marc opened a fresh page of his notebook.

"You said you wanted to focus on Mighty and Rev having more supportive roles next year, right? So we could give them our jobs today; food delivery and civilian rescue."

"We should switch roles then. Mightillustrator can draw shelters for people, and Reverser can fly the supplies around." Nathaniel leaned closer as he watched him pencilling in the ideas, adding notes and arrows and little stars like he always did. He thought about their first brainstorming sessions, and how guarded he was about his notebook and ideas. Now, Marc wasn't reluctant to show people his work when they asked; he even did a reading to the art club before the holidays.

"...and we could talk to Adrien about his akuma idea, 'Trendsetter'. It goes pretty well with the 'Fashion Disaster' akuma we made for Marinette, doesn't it?" Marc looked up, and fumbled with his pencil as he saw Nathaniel just staring at him.
"Nath?"

"Everyday you get more and more wonderful, Marc," Nathaniel sighed happily, gazing into his boyfriend's dazzling green eyes.
"I can't wait until tomorrow."

"I thought I was the writer," he chuckled, sliding forward on his chair as the two boys brought their faces closer. They could smell the mocha of their mingling breaths as their lips almost met.

"Marshmallow!"

Marc suddenly shot back in his chair, looking around for the source of the familiar voice. There was only one person who ever called him by that nickname.

"T-Tom?"

Before he could find him, Marc was practically yanked from his chair and pulled into a tight hug against a blue puffer jacket. His brother tried swinging him around like he used to when they were younger, and in a way the nostalgia was kind of comforting. Unfortunately Marc had undergone a growth spurt since then, so instead of his legs swinging around like a ragdoll he ended up doing a sort of clumsy dance on the icy ground.

“Heeey! How’s my little squish puff doing? Or not so little. You really grew up while I’ve been away.” Tom laughed as he released his brother, with a mischievous grin on his face

“Tom! When did you get back? I thought you were staying with friends over the holidays!”

“What, I can’t drop in to see my best brother? I was going to stop by as a surprise for Christmas but then that storm hit. I’ve been waiting until they opened the Startrain line again, and they did today, so I got on the first one I could.”

Tom rested his hands on his hips proudly as he leaned forward a bit.

“Besides, we have a lot to catch up on, don’t we Mr. Published Comic Book Author? Heh, I head off to university and all of a sudden you’re doing all these great things.”

Marc blushed a little, nervously gripping the lapel of his jacket.

“Well I didn’t do it by myself, I have Nath.” He turned to look at Nathaniel, who had stood up and finished his coffee while he watched the brotherly reunion.

Marc had mentioned Tom before, and even shown him some pictures. But somehow he was both exactly and not at all what Nathaniel expected him to be.

He looked similar to Marc, although his face wasn’t as soft and his eyes had a more greyish tint in the green. His black hair was also cut a lot shorter, although you couldn’t see much under his baseball cap and green knitted hat. He was appropriately dressed for the cold, with a puffy down jacket over jeans and grey winter boots, and matching green mittens.

“Ah, right. Nath, this is Tom, my brother. He’s been in university in the UK for a couple of years.” 

Nathaniel nodded and reached out to shake Tom’s hand.

“It’s a pleasure.”

“Tom, this is Nathaniel, my…” he paused, taking a second to gaze into Nathaniel’s aquamarine eyes to reassure himself.
“My boyfriend.”

“Oh!” Tom seemed to freeze in place for a beat, and his eyes suddenly started darting about the empty streets, as if scanning for anyone else who might have heard that. Nathaniel raised an eyebrow, looking down at Tom hesitating to shake his hand. 

“Oh?”

“Huh? Ah, I was… just thinking about how cold it is. Maybe we should all go inside? Away from the wind and chill?”

“It’s not too bad, and I think Marc’s fine.” Nathaniel slowly lowered his hand, still giving Tom a chance to accept the handshake. Which he didn’t.

“Well, you never know what kind of people you might meet out here! Maybe someone could come and attack you two out of the blue, or a car could lose control and crash! And it wouldn’t be safe here by the road. How about we all go to our place?” 

Nathaniel looked around the empty street, as well as the vacant iced roads. He knew the cheesy smile on Tom’s face was fake, but he wasn’t sure what he was hiding. Marc quickly cut in, sensing the tension building between them. 

“I guess it would be safer to get going now in case a storm hits again.”

“Yeah, we can drop by the bakery on the way to your place. Maybe we could get one of those rainbow macaron boxes you like. Unless your brother has any objections.” Nathaniel watched Tom’s face as he made the suggestion.

“We… might not have time. The next storm could hit any second now.”

Nathaniel could sense the same hesitation as before. Did Tom have something against them being together? Or maybe he… Nathaniel didn’t even want to finish that thought.

“Do you-”
No. Nathaniel pursed his lips together to stop himself from saying any more. Picking a fight right now wouldn’t help anyone, and it would just hurt Marc. Shaking his head a little, he quickly tried to think of a way to continue the sentence he started.
“-want to go ahead with Marc then? I’ll go pick up some groceries and meet you at your place.”

Nathaniel offered a smile as he approached Marc, placing a hand on his cheek and leaning in for a quick kiss.
“See you later, Marshmallow, ”

Marc felt a little indignant about Nathaniel using that nickname, but there was a lot more on his mind. He could tell Nathaniel had gotten a bad first impression of his brother. And he couldn’t help but worry as he walked away. 

“Great! Should we get going so the house is nice and warm when he gets there?” Tom grinned, still displaying a sense of unease.

It felt too much like what happened at the comic convention, when he left Nathaniel alone and he became akumatised. Marc looked back and forth between his brother and his boyfriend, and made a decision.

“You go ahead, Tom. I should… I should check on Nath.”

He reached back to grab his notebook from the table and hurried after Nathaniel, not realising that he dropped his pencil as he left. 

“Marshmallow!”
Tom reached down to grab the pencil from the snowy ground.
“Wait, you dropped your-”

But as he looked up, Marc was nowhere to be seen.

Nathaniel had his phone out, searching for any stores that were still open. The interaction with Tom Anciel had left a bitterness with him that matched the sting of the cold air, and he was doing everything in his power to avoid being akumatised. He tried to focus on his positive thoughts; getting some food to make later, working on the next issue of the Ladybug comic…

“Nath, wait!”

Normally, hearing Marc’s voice would be enough to settle his ruminations, but as Marc rushed over to him he couldn’t help but voice the concern on his mind.

“Marc, does Tom have a problem with us? The way he was acting back there, it-”

“I know what you’re thinking,” Marc interrupted, “he’s not like that.” 

“It felt like he didn’t want us to be out together.” Nathaniel tried to suppress his dismay; did his brother not approve of their relationship?

“It’s not because we’re together. It’s because we’re outside.”

“Outside?”

"Nath... have I ever told you about the time I wore a skirt to elementary school?"

"Marshmallow! Marshmallow!" Tom tried to find his brother in the icy streets. What if something happened to him? What if he slipped on the ice and hit his head on the ground, or he fell on the road in front of a truck, or he ran into someone nasty who would say horrible things to him and…

Tom stopped dead in his tracks as the pencil gripped in his hand turned black, and all his catastrophising thoughts completely flooded his mind.

“Your fear for the safety of your loved ones consumes you… but what if I could give you the power to ensure you would never fear for them ever again?”

“Oh Marc…” Nathaniel reached out to hold his hands, unable to hide the heartbreak on his face. After hearing the story, everything about that interaction made sense. He sighed, realising he’d jumped to conclusions about someone again.

“It was years ago. I’m not bothered by it now. I don’t think I even think I know any of them anymore,” Marc sighed, but gratefully squeezed his hands in return.
“But that’s why Tom doesn’t want us to be out; ever since that day he’s always been so worried about me…”

“I don’t blame him. I’d better head back to apologise before something happens.”

“Don’t worry, Tom doesn’t hold grudges. He wouldn’t get akumatised over-”

“Look out!”

Nathaniel wrapped his arms around Marc and jumped to the side as a large fragment of white glassy material shattered on the pavement where they stood before.

The two of them looked up, seeing a shadowy figure perched on a nearby roof. More of the cloudy shards were orbiting around a weapon held in his hand. 

Nathaniel grabbed Marc’s hand and started running, trying to think of the safest place they could hide while trying to stay ahead of the villain chasing them. He took them around a corner hoping to get into the Metro, but their pursuer flew over the block of buildings and landed directly in their path.

The villain was adorned in a blood red robe, with a long tattered cloak that billowed out behind him in a swirling mix of murky lavender and burgundy. His face had a ghostly white complexion, with golden eyes gleaming eerily from the shadows of the cloak’s hood. Gripped in his black gloved hand was a twisted wooden staff, the mahogany tendrils constricting a black stone core. 

“Marc.” The writer flinched at the mention of his name. How did this villain know him? Did he do something to hurt someone else? Or maybe it was… was it him?
“You need to come with me,” the villain extended his hand.

“He doesn’t need to do anything.” Nathaniel interjected, holding his arm out in front of his boyfriend protectively.

“I wasn’t talking to you,” the villain dismissed him and aimed his staff towards them. Several glassy shards primed themselves, then fired straight at the two boys.

Nathaniel stepped in front of Marc to shield him, and braced himself as the shards made contact with him. Strangely, the material just vanished on impact, leaving him with no physical injuries at all. But the villain seemed satisfied by this and laughed, pointing his staff towards him.

“Soon you’ll feel what it’s like for your worst fears to be realised!”

“Stop!” Marc stepped out from behind Nathaniel, rushing over and easing the villain’s staff to the side.
“I’ll go with you! As long as you don’t hurt him!”

“Marc! No!” Nathaniel took a step closer, only to be threatened by another swarm of glass splinters.

“I won’t hurt him as long as he stays away from you.” The villain glared down at Nathaniel, as if daring him to take another step.

“Nath, I’ll be okay. He won’t hurt me.” There was no shakiness to Marc’s voice, no uncertainty. Nathaniel hesitantly stood back as the villain picked up Marc around his torso and leaped away to the rooftops. Marc knew what he was doing, and Nathaniel trusted him. But he didn’t trust this villain, and definitely not Hawkmoth.

Once he was out of sight, Nathaniel quickly and quietly followed them as the villain fled down the avenue, landing on top of the Palais Garnier opera house. He aimed his staff upwards, shooting a bolt of light straight up at the overcast sky. There was a heavy cracking sound, like a window smashing as the sky began to split apart. Fragments of the cracked sky began to fall all over Paris, forcing Nathaniel to take cover in a nearby doorway as a cascade of glass rained down over the city. 

A mass of the sky shards started to envelope the opera house. For a second there was nothing, and then the street shook violently as the entire building rose out from the ground, lifting itself up above the street on a large stone plateau. It lifted higher and higher, almost disappearing into the dense clouds that began to sweep over the city.

Undeterred, Nathaniel took a deep breath, trying to form a plan to get in and save Marc. And his brother. And the rest of Paris. 

Marinette was fixing a torn hem on her jacket when she heard the splintering. She turned to check on her window and sighed as she saw the crack in the glass. But as she stepped closer, she found to her horror that the crack was forming on the sky outside, not on her window pane. Before she could investigate some more, Alya was blowing up her inbox.

-- 12 unread messages --

alya.ladyblogger: Girl, are you seeing this?

alya.ladyblogger: This is crazy! Hang on, I’ll send you a video.

alya.ladyblogger is sending a file: MOV_1229113429.mp4

Marinette opened the video, watching Alya’s recording. She was filming from her balcony as large cracks continued to split the sky apart. She kept the front of the crack in focus as it branched up overhead, and Marinette gasped as she watched a large chunk of the sky start to fall towards the camera. The view quickly shifted to the ground and there was a blur, followed by some screams and glass shattering before the video cut abruptly.

marinette.designed: Alya, did you get hurt?! ARe you okay?

alya.ladyblogger: I’m fine, I only got hit by some splinters, and they didn’t even affect me.

alya.ladyblogger: BRB, I gotta upload this to the Ladyblog.

alya.ladyblogger: Oh you’ve gotta be kidding me!

marinette.designed: Alya?

alya.ladyblogger: It’s saying I’ve input the wrong password. 

alya.ladyblogger: It can’t be wrong, I’ve used it every day!

alya.ladyblogger: It’s going to lock me out if I guess wrong 2 more times!

marinette.designed: Maybe try to think about it some more. Gotta go. Talk to you soon!

Marinette closed the messenger window and looked out the window again, cringing as the cracks continued to form.

“I don’t think a needle and thread can fix this tear. Tikki! Spots on!”

After spending his morning in the cold, Adrien was taking some time to warm up in his room. He had changed into warm pajamas and was happily wrapped up in a cuddly blanket while sipping some hot chocolate and messaging his best friend.

dj.nino: ive almost finished working on the remix of that piano piece you sent me 

dj.nino: ill send it to you once i get hl

Adrien started to wonder what Nino meant by hl. Home later maybe? Before he could figure it out  he heard a violent cracking sound and looked up at his windows, seeing the tear forming across the sky. 

adrienagrestebrand: Nino, what happened?

dj.nino: dude i think the sky just fell on me

adrienagrestebrand: Get inside! Hurry!

dj.nino: okay im inside

adrienagrestebrand: Are you alright?

dj.nino: im good but i think my headphones broke

dj.nino: wait

dj.nino: oh no

adrienagrestebrand: Nino? What’s wrong?

dj.nino: i cant hear anything

dj.nino: im clapping my hands and screaming but i cant hear any of it

dj.nino: crap i cant finish working on this new mix for you!

Adrien could practically feel the distress coming from the screen. He started typing out a reply while calling over his shoulder to his partner.

“Come on, Plagg, there are people who need our help,” 

“And when we get back my fondue will be ready!” Plagg threw another chunk of cheese into the new electric fondue pot that Adrien bought them for Christmas, currently sitting where his globe used to be on the cheese cupboard. They took a long whiff of the slowly melting cheese before hovering over to Adrien’s side, ready to transform him.

“Plagg! Claws out!”

Chat Noir hit send on his reply before locking his computer and jumping out the window, heading towards the source of the cracks in the sky.

adrienagrestebrand: There’s probably an akuma around. Don’t worry, Ladybug and Chat Noir will fix this. Father is calling for me, but I’ll be back to talk again soon.

After raising the opera house on the plateau, the villain brought Marc to one of the round rooms on top of the building. He used a chunk of sky glass to blast a hole through the bricks and jumped inside, releasing his captive.

Marc had been so sure that his brother wouldn’t have been akumatised. Even with his constant over-worrying for him, he was always so confident, uplifting and supportive. He would never have submitted to Hawkmoth.

But once he heard his threat against Nathaniel, as well as comparing the villain’s appearance to his brother’s theatre background, all the pieces fit together. The villain was...

“Tom-”

“I am Catastrophet!”

“Right, sorry. Catastrophet. Why are you doing this?”

“Why else? I need to keep you safe, Marc. There’s so much out there that could hurt you,” Catastrophet took a step towards his brother. Marc instinctively took one back.
“But none of that can get you in here.”

The villain raised his staff and struck it against the wooden floor, letting the hollow knocking sound reverberate through the room. The walls started to twist and shift, sealing up the hole made moments ago into a solid wall again. Metal struts began to twist and fold into a lattice that covered the bricks to provide more security.

“How… how are you doing that?” Marc looked around fearfully, realising that escaping would be harder than he initially thought.

“Objects have fears too. Fears of going unused, of being lost or destroyed...” Catastrophet paced the room, all the while changing into a space less like a prison and more like a luxury suite. He constructed a rather extravagant looking writing desk with a stack of quality papers and fancy pens, all neatly arranged. The bench Marc was placed on expanded into a large bed covered with heaps of fluffy pillows and plush blankets. It probably the size of Marc’s entire room back home.
"And I can twist those fears for my purposes… for your protection.”

'He still cares about me, ' Marc thought, starting to wonder if he could use that to his advantage.

"Well, in that case..." Marc glanced around, then huffed and put his hands on his hips.
"At least give me a window. There's no air in here, and the snow is so pretty outside."

"Of course. Anything for my precious little brother." Catastrophet tapped his staff on the ground, and the walls shuffled themselves to create an arched window fitted with an iron lattice. Outside, Marc saw the rest of the city was being slowly obscured by a dense fog. He could just barely see the tops of chimneys poking through the sea of clouds. 

"It'd be nice to have a better view too. Maybe some trees, like the ones in that park we used to go to."

Marc watched as tall evergreen trees began sprouting around the edges of the plateau. That would have to do for now; he didn't want to push things too far in case his brother caught on to what he was really doing.

"That's a lot better. I think I'll have a rest now, it's been an eventful morning."

"I agree. You go lie down, and I'll go make preparations for any uninvited guests we might have." Catastrophet pulled Marc into one of his usual bear hugs, although Marc could feel the distinct lack of warmth from this one. He forced himself to hug his pseudo-brother back. Catastrophet patted Marc's head and turned to leave, with the doorway sealing itself into a solid wall to keep his brother safe.

Marc waited a moment before reaching for his phone to send a message, but found that he had no reception up here. Maybe all the cracks in the sky had something to do with that. Okay, time for plan B. He went to the writing desk, grabbing a piece of paper and one of the pens.

Nathaniel continued to circle around the plateau, trying to find a way into the structure. As he rounded one of the corners, he was momentarily thrown by the sight of trees growing through the asphalt road. 

Before he could fully contemplate the scene, a small crumpling sound got his attention, and he watched a paper plane tumbling off one of the trees to the ground. As he picked it up, he saw his name written in the corner. And when he unfolded it his fears quickly faded away.
"Still making me proud, huh Marc?" he chuckled to himself before tucking the plane into his jacket and looking up at the trees again.

Ladybug recoiled her yo-yo as she landed in front of the opera house, checking the area for any threats. She hadn’t been to Palais Garnier for a while, but she definitely remembered it wasn’t this high up, or normally this foggy. It almost felt like this building was the only structure standing in the whole world. All around her was an endless sea of clouds.

And a black cat hanging onto a metal pole.

“Admiring the view, m’lady?” Chat Noir winked. He swung himself over to the plateau and retracted his staff, also looking back at the emptiness around them.
“Can’t say I blame you. Other than me there’s not much to look at up here.”

“How about we start by looking for whoever caused this?” Ladybug placed her hands on her hips. She could do without the flirting, but it was genuinely good to see him right now.

“Sounds like a plan. I’ve always wanted to take you somewhere fancy.” Chat Noir bowed and offered a hand to Ladybug, although the act was cut short as a horrible cracking noise resounded overhead. 

The heroes looked up in alarm, seeing the sky above them bearing deep cracks in it. Pitch black crevasses were tearing the clouds asunder, and several chunks of the sky came loose, threatening to crush the heroes.

Chat Noir quickly spiralled his staff overhead to deflect the falling pieces while Ladybug used her yo-yo to pull both of them inside the building for cover. They both looked out as the blue and white pieces shattered like glass on the stone pavings of the courtyard, glistening ominously while reflecting the dark spaces they used to occupy above.

“So the sky is falling over an opera house in the clouds... “ Chat Noir pondered, closing the doors to shut out the sound of splintering glass.

“Hawkmoth’s latest target certainly has a sense for theatrics.”

“I guess we’ll have to use some thea/tricks/ of our own, hey bugaboo?”

The heroes ran further into the building towards the auditorium doors, just as someone else came skidding around the corner and crashed into them. Ladybug quickly rolled out of the way, while Chat Noir nearly stumbled and managed to catch the other person in a dip.

“Nathaniel?” 

“At least buy me dinner first,” Nathaniel joked.

“Nathaniel, what are you doing here? How did-”

“His name is Catastrophet,” Nathaniel interrupted, letting Chat Noir pull him back up onto his feet.
“Hawkmoth akumatised Marc’s brother when he came to visit and I… I was too short with him. He kidnapped Marc, and now he’s using his staff to make people’s fears come true, and he can control the opera house somehow.”

"Wait, how do you know all that?"

"Marc told me." Nathaniel handed Ladybug the unfolded paper plane from outside.

'It’s Tom; he was akumatised into Catastrophet. His power is fear. The akuma is in his staff. He can control the Palais Garnier, but I think he just wants to keep me safe so I asked him for a window and plenty of tall trees. I think I'm in one of the rehearsal halls on the top of the opera house.'

“That’s… actually really helpful. Stay here, we’ll go rescue Marc,” Ladybug handed the folded paper back and continued with Chat Noir up the stone stairs towards the amphitheatre.

“Wait!” Nathaniel called out, following them through the grand foyer.
“Let me go with you. I need to help him.”

Ladybug turned back, struggling to find the right words to answer. If she said one thing wrong, then he would be revealed as Phoenix.
“The battle might be dangerous. And I don’t know if you have the… skills you need to face a villain.”

“I’ve... faced akumas before.”
Nathaniel was similarly trying to pick his words carefully to hide his identity, just in case there was anyone else listening in.
"Tom’s just worried about Marc. I know that feeling well. That’s why I need to help him. We’re after the same thing; we both want Marc to be happy."

It took a split second for Ladybug to understand the strange emphasis in his words. He was saying that he wanted to help as Nathaniel, not as Phoenix. And while he might not have his Miraculous powers, he could still come up with a Phoenix-grade strategy.

"Alright. But leave the fighting to us."

Nathaniel nodded, following the superheroes up the stairs as they approached the main theatre.

The three of them entered the auditorium, finding it dimly lit. Chat Noir used his better night vision to check the coast was clear.

“Wait, why would he be here?” he whispered, looking back over his shoulder.

“Have you seen what he’s doing? He’s theatrical to a fault, so he’s definitely waiting on the main stage to make a grand entrance.” Ladybug nodded, looking at the lights peeking out from behind the stage curtain.

As if on cue, the room started to fill with the ominous notes of a pipe organ. The main curtain started to rise, revealing the villain laying in wait.

“Catastrophet!”

“Welcome, would-be heroes. I was warned there would be some unwanted interlopers in my sanctuary.” Catastrophet slammed the base of his staff onto the stage, causing all the lights in the room to flare to full brightness. His eyes settled on the group; Ladybug grasping her yoyo in hand, Chat Noir covering his eyes from the sudden adjustment and…
“You. I warned you to stay away.”

“I needed to make sure Marc was safe.” Nathaniel was still being very careful with his words. If possible, he wanted to try talking him down first.

“The only ones presenting a threat to him are you three; trying to take him away from this safety.”

“What kind of safety is a prison?” Chat Noir countered, stepping forward now that he could see more clearly.
“Do you know what it does to someone to keep them in a cage, away from the people they love? I wouldn’t wish that horror on anyone.”

“This is already a world full of horrors,” the villain aimed his staff towards the group, charging up a barrage of glass shards.
“But now I control all of them.”

As Catastrophet unleashed the shards, Ladybug zipped herself up to a balcony while Chat Noir vaulted up to one on the other side. Nathaniel took cover behind some of the chairs as the fragments all embedded themselves in the seats, glistering menacingly. 

“Marc won’t be hurt as long as I stand. If you three oppose me, then you are all a threat!”

“But what about Marc? Is this what he wants?” Ladybug wondered if the best plan was to divide his attention; distracting him so that Chat Noir could destroy the akumatised object. She quickly texted the plan to Chat Noir as she kept holding the conversation.

“What he wants is to feel safe, and he feels safest when he’s alone.” He fired another slew of shards towards where Ladybug was, forcing her to dodge behind a pillar.

“Have you asked him about that? Because he likes stargazing too and he can’t do that if you tear them all down!” Nathaniel took over as the distraction, starting to move closer to the stage. He stopped when Catastrophet aimed the glass shards towards him, but kept talking.
“Marc isn’t as helpless as you think. He may have been hurt before, I know. But he’s getting stronger every day. You don’t need to fight his battles for him!”

As Catastrophet considered this, Chat Noir took the chance and launched himself down towards the villain, preparing to strike the staff out of his hands. Catastrophet turned and deflected the strike, sneering at the cat hero as he landed on the stage behind him.

“Once all threats are gone, I won’t need to.”

Catastrophet started firing the shards at Chat Noir one at a time, and he started to spiral his own stick around to deflect them. He was managing to keep up with the onslaught of projectiles, but then Catastrophet made a subtle gesture with his free hand and there was a creak from the lighting rig. Chat Noir looked up as a shower of the fragments started to crash down from above, and as he jumped back to avoid them, he was struck by one of the shards launched by the villain.

Chat Noir staggered back, feeling where the glass had struck him. There was no sign of any damage at all, there wasn’t even a scratch on his suit. But he also felt heavier, and less energetic.

“Hmph, how appropriate for a hero’s worst fear.” Catastrophet rushed forward and swung his staff at Chat Noir. He tried to block the attack with his stick, but was thrown backwards into the backstage area with his weapon clattering to the side. Catastrophet swept his staff across the ground, sending a wave through the floor that continued to propel Chat Noir, until he landed in the middle of some scaffolding. With another slam of his staff, the metal bars twisted into a cage around the hero.

"Cataclysm! Cataclysm!" Chat Noir grunted, watching in despair as nothing happened. The sky fragment had completely wiped his powers. He desperately gripped the bars of the cage to try and free himself as Catastrophet smugly strode closer.

Ladybug jumped down from the balcony to stop Catastrophet, but Nathaniel was able to act first, sprinting up on stage and grabbing Chat Noir’s staff. He stood in front of the cage defensively, extending the weapon in both hands.

“You need to stop. Chat Noir is one of Marc’s heroes.” 

Catastrophet growled and aimed his staff at him, levitating all his remaining sky shards in an orbiting cluster.

“If you don’t step aside I’ll blast you with horrors you couldn’t even imagine!”

“You won’t,” Nathaniel smirked, relaxing his stance and resting Chat Noir’s staff over his shoulders.
“You can’t make my worst fears come true. Because they’re your worst fears too.”

There was a visible quiver along Catastrophet’s arm as Nathaniel called his bluff. The moment of hesitation was enough for Ladybug to latch her yo-yo onto his weapon. He managed to retain his grip on it as she tried to yank it away. The two of them struggled in a brief tug-of-war for the staff, but he could also see Nathaniel running up preparing to strike.

In a moment of desperation, he aimed his staff up towards the roof of the theatre, unleashing all but one of his shards against the bolt holding the chandelier. There was a brutal explosion, followed by the chandelier coming loose from the fittings and dropping down towards Ladybug. She released her hold on the akumatised object to escape the falling lights, allowing Catastrophet to evade Nathaniel’s attack. He blocked another strike before leaping away with a furious snarl, jumping up into the ceiling of the backstage area. With his last sky piece, he tore open a hole in the roof, and Nathaniel had to dive out of the way of a shower of debris while Catastrophet escaped.

As the dust was settling, Ladybug hurried to the stage, checking both her partner and Nathaniel were safe. Nathaniel used the staff to prise the cage bars apart, making a gap large enough for Chat Noir to squeeze through.

“Thanks… Catastrophet’s performance is certainly bringing down the house…” Chat Noir offered as a pun, but it was said half-heartedly. The other two could tell the wind had been severely knocked from his sails.

“That’s not all he’s bringing down,” Nathaniel pointed through the open roof, where more fragments of glass were being torn directly from the cracks in the sky, causing them to spread faster and more violently. It looked like the sky was starting to cave in, and more pieces were falling through the clouds onto Paris.

“Ladybug!” Catastrophet bellowed from the rooftop, projecting his voice loud enough for all of Paris to hear.
“If you don’t surrender your and Chat Noir’s Miraculous, I’ll tear down the entire sky! All of Paris will be a city of unending dread!”

They were running out of time and options. Ladybug took a steadying breath before calling on her power.

"Lucky Charm!"

She hoped with every fibre of her being that it didn't lead to another Miraculous, because there was no way she could leave to get it with only one superpowered hero remaining.

The swirl of ladybugs coalesced into a small bundle of red and black. She turned it in her hands for a moment before it unfolded into...

"An evening dress?!"

All their hopes were down to a red and black spotted gown. She looked around the area for any sort of clue about how to use it... Nothing... Maybe the costume racks backstage? Nope. The seats, the balconies...

"Ladybug, I've got it!" Nathaniel exclaimed, holding his hand out to take the dress.

"You have an idea?" 

As he nodded in reply, she finally saw a plan she could trust.

[Nathaniel]

Catastrophet glared up at the sky as he continued to charge up his staff, watching the cracks splintering the heavens into the terror inducing fragments. If Ladybug didn’t show herself, he would plunge all of Paris into a living nightmare. 

“Catastrophet! That’s enough!”

He turned his head, seeing the red-clad hero by one of the statues adorning the avant-corps of the opera house. The gilded wings of L'Harmonie framed her figure as she stood with her yoyo grasped in one hand and Chat Noir’s staff in the other.

“You want my Miraculous? Come and take it!”

Catastrophet hurled several sky fragments at Ladybug, who protected herself by spiralling her yo-yo and the borrowed staff. Once Catastrophet ran out of shards, she began sprinting along the walkways on the roof, moving towards the back of the building.

The villain grunted and jumped down to the lower roof, starting to chase after Ladybug. As soon as the coast was clear, Nathaniel climbed up out of a service hatch, quickly making his way to Marc's room with the fabric bundle under his arm.

Even if he was a prisoner, Marc refused to just lay back and leave everything to the heroes. Once he had sent the message down to Nathaniel, he started using the pen tips to chisel at the fittings around his window. It was a lengthy job, but if he managed to get away then he could help to save his brother. With one more jab, he managed to loosen the metal grate off the opening and it fell onto some waiting pillows with a muffled thunk. 

Marc slid the grating to the side and turned back to his escape route, only to be startled by someone standing there waiting for him.

“Nath!”

“Everyday you get more and more wonderful, Marc” Nathaniel smiled, stepping through the newly opened passageway. Marc pulled Nathaniel into a tight hug, letting himself feel some relief. Nathaniel had a look around the room to confirm his plan.

[Pillows on the bed]

[Marc]

[The dress]

Yes, this would work.

"Sorry to spring this on you, but I need your clothes."

Marc stood back and stared at his boyfriend.

"What."

"Just your jacket and jeans. Trust me." Nathaniel handed the dress to Marc and quickly ran to the bed, taking a few pillows and blankets and rolling them up. Marc looked at what he had been given, quickly realising that the dress was a Lucky Charm.

Ladybug flipped backwards as more fragments of the sky smashed onto the roof of the opera house. She caught a glimpse of the badly splintered sky as she threw her yo-yo, using it to pull herself behind a pillar to evade another set of shards fired by Catastrophet.

“Hurry up and surrender, Ladybug!” the villain challenged, aiming his staff to the sky to collect more pieces to use as weapons. A large chunk of the stratosphere visibly shifted, teetering on the edge of falling.
“The more I take, the sooner the sky drops onto Paris and makes everyone’s fears come true!”

“Tom! Stop!”

Catastrophet stopped charging his weapon and looked back to Marc’s room, seeing the broken open window. Marc’s voice was coming from the top of the opera house, behind the statue of Apollo.

“I don’t want this. I won’t let you destroy Paris!”

“Marc, I’m doing this for you! I need to stop everyone who wants to hurt you. This is the only way! Everyone in Paris is a threat!”

“Does that include you too?”

Catastrophet flinched at the thought that his brother saw him as a threat.

“What are you saying? I’m trying to keep you safe!”

“You’re destroying my home. You’re hurting everyone I care about. Including you. I know you don’t want this.”

“I… I’ll do whatever I need to protect you!”

There was a pause and Catastrophet started to turn his attention back to where Ladybug was.

“Then catch me.”

Catastrophet immediately abandoned his fight with Ladybug, jerking his head back to see someone jumping off the roof into the hole he made in the backstage area. He raced up the roof and dived after him, reaching out to stop him from crashing into the hard stage floor.

“MARC!”

The entire area around Palais Garnier seemed to contort as Catastrophet’s own worst fear was coming to life, with the following silence only amplifying the echoes of his agonised screech.

It was only after he landed that he realised that it wasn’t his brother in his arms. He had panicked over saving a dummy wearing Marc’s clothes. And before his confusion could change back into anger, someone restrained his arms behind his back.

“I’ve got him!” Chat Noir called up. Ladybug started to dive down into the opera house, hurling her yo-yo ahead of her. It wrapped around Catastrphet’s staff and pulled it up and out of his hands. Ladybug caught the weapon mid-fall, did a somersault and smashed it onto the ground as she landed, splintering the stone core and releasing the akuma. 

“I’m afraid it’s over, little akuma!” Ladybug quipped as she de-evilised the butterfly, sending it on it’s way. As the dark magic started to fade from Catastrophet, one of the service elevators opened, revealing Nathaniel and Marc. Marc was wearing the Lucky Charm: a long red spotted dress with a black ribbon belt around his waist and a matching black bolero.

“Looking good, Marc!” Chat Noir complimented, releasing Catastrophet as he started to transform back into Tom.

“Heh… You really think so?” Marc chuckled nervously and fiddled with the collar of the dress while Nathaniel retrieved his clothes from the dummy he made from the pillows and blankets.

“Of course. You could have a future in modelling fashionable dresses.”

Nathaniel handed Marc’s clothes to him and he walked behind one of the wooden pillars to change so he could give the dress back.

“What… happened?”

Tom slowly pushed himself up from the ground, wondering where he was. A stage… maybe he’s having that dream about being in the middle of a show without knowing the lines. A show with a couple of superheroes. They looked familiar, actually, just like…

“Ladybug? And Chat Noir?” Tom looked around, seeing that the stage area was quite badly damaged. It didn’t take long for him to realise what he had done.
"I got akumatised, didn’t I?”

“You did,” Nathaniel walked over, offering his hand to Tom to help him up.
“But it’s over now. Marc is safe, and soon everything will be back to normal.”

Tom sighed and accepted Nathaniel’s hand, getting up to his feet as Marc returned in his winter clothes, handing the folded dress to Ladybug. She hurled the garment into the air, calling the Miraculous Ladybugs out to repair the damages done to the city. The entire swarm dispersed all across Paris, reversing people’s fears as the broken glass was swept up, repairing all the cracks and gaps in the sky. The ladybugs coalesced around the opera house, returning it to its normal place on the ground and fixing all the holes blasted in the walls.

Once the cure was completed, Tom looked down at his brother and his boyfriend. Marc looked so confident now, nothing at all like the brother he had to leave behind to go to university. That brother barely had the confidence to talk to people, and now here he was holding hands with his boyfriend after being involved in an akuma battle. He flinched at the thought that he might have put his brother in danger. And the way he treated his boyfriend before, he really messed things up.

“I’m sorry.”

“W-what?” Tom looked up in confusion. Why was Nathaniel apologising?

“I didn’t trust you before. The way you were talking, it made me feel like you didn’t support Marc. I thought you didn’t approve of us being together. But you were just scared for him. You didn’t want him to be hurt again.”

“Again… he told you about the skirt?”

Nathaniel nodded, looking down at Marc’s hand held in his own. As he did, Tom sighed and started fiddling with his sleeves.

"I was... packing to go to university when Marc came out to us. And it made me not want to go, because I was so scared that something would happen to him." Tom turned to look at Marc, reaching up to hold him by his arms.
"After the incident you were going to throw out all your favourite clothes. You were crying for days and didn't want to go to school anymore. And that was over a skirt. When you came out to me, I was terrified that people wouldn't accept you, or some people might hate you just for who you are. Especially if I wasn't around to protect you."

"Sometimes I still feel scared about what people think of me.” Marc turned to look at Nathaniel, holding his hand a little tighter.
“But then I remember that I have plenty of people in my life who love me. And I know that I don’t have to be afraid of being myself, because those people will always love me for who I am."

"...Wow. You really have grown up while I‘ve been away." Tom lowered his arms, looking at his brother, speaking his mind clearly and being self-assured, even after what had happened.
"You've spread your wings. Just like Sparrow did after rejoining Knightowl's team."

"Wait..." Nathaniel bit his lip as both of the Anciels turned to look at him. He probably shouldn't have brought it up, but now they were waiting for him to continue.
"In the movies Sparrow is still a sidekick, but the comic series has him becoming independent and leading his own team."

"Is he ready for that?" Tom rested his hands on his hips.
"Sparrow's still a bit reckless and jumps into situations before he's ready."

"He's only like that in the movies. Even the early comic series paints Sparrow as a more cautious hero. And the latest movie doesn't do much for anyone's character development."

"What are you talking about? The movies are great! That scene where Knightowl admits to being overbearing was powerful!"

Marc looked back and forth at his boyfriend and brother having a lively debate about whether the Knightowl comics or movies were better. He cast an aside glance at Ladybug and Chat Noir, who both shrugged. 

"I think we should go home before security throws us out."

Tom and Nathaniel stopped bickering and looked down where the Palais Garnier staff were watching them debate about comics on the main stage.

Marc could only laugh at their surprised expressions. At least they were arguing about something less important.

Ladybug and Chat Noir walked the group out to the street before jumping up onto the rooftops to start heading home. Ladybug was about to just rush off when she saw Chat Noir looking down at Nathaniel.

“Nathaniel really saved the day back there, huh. He’s a real hero,” he was smiling, but there was some disappointment in his voice.

“Chat?” Ladybug checked her Miraculous; she had about a minute left, so she could take some time to listen.

“If it wasn’t for him, you couldn’t have saved the day. Maybe he could make a good miraculous user.”

“Chat, you helped too.” Ladybug placed a hand on Chat’s shoulder. He shook his head, looking back at the opera house.

“I wasn’t any use to you, m’lady. And if I’m not a worthy partner to you…”

“Then you’re still a worthy friend.”

Chat Noir’s posture stiffened as he felt Ladybug’s arms wrapping around him from the side.

“I was also afraid of being useless, remember? In our fight against Sandboy. And you were there to help me through it. We’re a team, we help each other when we need it.”

Ladybug’s earrings beeped as a warning, and Chat Noir quickly pulled back from the hug.

“Don’t you need to go? Your time’s running out!”

“I want to make sure you’re okay first.”

Chat Noir’s expression lifted, and he flashed his usual charismatic grin.

“Yeah, I’m good now. Thank you, Ladybug.”

They shared a smile for a second, before reaching up for their fistbump.

“Pound it!”

When Marinette got back to her room she immediately grabbed her designing sketchbook and turned to a new page. After a few warm up sketches, she began working on a new design; a skirt for men. 

It was hardly new ground; in the 80s, Jean Paul Gaultier had released a line of skirts for men. But she was after something different, something less ‘Fashion Week’ and more ‘every day’. A skirt for guys who just felt like wearing one, and nobody would bat an eye at it.

She was so absorbed in the designs that she almost forgot to check in with Alya, and when she opened the messenger again she found she had another dozen unread messages.

marinette.designed: Sorry! When the glass was falling I had to hide downstairs in case a window broke!

alya.ladyblogger: It’s cool. I got the password again, so the Ladyblog is back up!

alya.ladyblogger: I wasn’t able to post any live updates, but it turns out nobody in Paris had any internet on their phones, and a lot of Wifi signals were down. 

alya.ladyblogger: But check this out! I managed to get an image of someone climbing up the trees that appeared around the opera house. Do you have any idea who this is?

alya.ladyblogger is sending a file: p1229114506.jpg

marinette.designed: It’s hard to see with all the fog. Are you sure it’s not a bird of some kind?

alya.ladyblogger: No, I’m sure it’s a person. Imagine if I could get an interview with them about this! What do you think they saw up there?

marinette.designed: Who knows. Good luck in finding them though.

alya.ladyblogger: You seem distracted. Is something up?

marinette.designed: Oh, I just started working on a new design. I had to do something while I was hiding in the bathroom.

alya.ladyblogger: Nice. Can I see?

Marinette looked down at her sketchpad, considering how safe it was to share it this early. The first sketch was very similar to Marc wearing the Lucky Charm, and she was hoping to refine and adjust it into something equally stylish. But if that first image somehow got out and Marc or Nathaniel saw it… 

marinette.designed: I’m still working on it. But I’ll send you a preview once I iron out the details.

alya.ladyblogger: Keep me posted. 

dj.nino: dunno when youll get back but i can hear again!

dj.nino: ill just keep working till you get back

adrienagrestebrand: I’m back now. Good to hear.

dj.nino: sure is lol

dj.nino: perfect timing dude check this out

dj.nino is sending a file: bestbroremixv2.mp3

adrienagrestebrand: ❤

Adrien leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes, letting himself be completely immersed in the mix of his piano piece with a peppy dance beat and an electric guitar riff. Did Nino get Luka to send him a sample too? It sounded a lot like him. He set the tune to play at a comfortable volume on his room speakers and wrapped the pink blanket Santa gave him last year a little tighter around his shoulders. Then he rolled his chair closer to where Plagg was waiting with cubes of bread speared on two miniature forks.

“About time. I was about to start without you.” Plagg huffed, hovering over to Adrien and handing him one of the forks.

“You never wait for me to start enjoying cheese.”

“What? Today’s a special occasion. I felt like sharing.”

Adrien tilted his head a little, wondering what was so special about today. He decided it was better not to ask, and joined his kwami in stirring the fondue pot. But before he could enjoy the steaming chunk of cheese soaked bread, Plagg ended up sharing their reason.

“I couldn’t help you…” Their fork made a hollow clinking sound as thye dropped it on the bowl of bread cubes.

“Plagg?”

“I couldn’t protect you from Catastrophet.” Plagg’s ears drooped as they remembered the fight, being struck by the glass that cut off all of Chat Noir’s powers, rendering him nearly helpless against the villain.
“If something happened to you and I couldn’t do anything…If I lost you...”

“Plagg…” Adrien thought losing his powers was his worst fear coming true, but now he realised that it was also Plagg’s. He also set his fork down and gently picked up his kwami, holding them close to his chest.
“We still saved the day in the end. You’ve already helped me so much, giving me someone to talk to and a chance to escape every now and then. I’ll always be grateful that you’re here for me.”

“I thought we already did all our mushy stuff on Christmas,” Plagg hummed, reaching their paws out to try and embrace their holder in return.

“There’s always time for mushy stuff.”

Plagg stayed against Adrien’s chest for a moment, purring just a little, before their eyes opened and they started hovering up.

“Oh! I just remembered there was something I wanted to do!”

The black cat kwami came to a stop perched on top of one of Adrien’s fencing trophies and looked down into the fondue pot. They held their paws out to the side and leaned their head back before starting to dive down with a cheerful ‘Geronimo!’

Plagg felt the wind in their whiskers stop abruptly, and they opened their eyes to see why they hadn’t landed the pool of molten delicious. Adrien had stopped their swan dive by catching their tail between his thumb and forefinger.

“I’m not cleaning cheese out of your fur,” Adrien chuckled.

“Meanie.” Plagg folded their paws, pretending to be annoyed as Adrien laughed softly.

“Ah, that was the best chicken soup I’ve ever had!” Tom sat back as he finished the last of his meal.

“It’s my ima’s recipe. Glad you like it."

The three of them had gone to get some supplies before going back to Marc’s place, and Nathaniel made supper while the two brothers caught up. He had intended to leave them alone for a while, but Tom kept poking his head into the kitchen to ask about details in the comic.

(“How did you draw the pose in this falling panel? Did you use a 3D model? And the facial expression too, it’s so lifelike!”)

In the end, the entire catch up conversation happened in the kitchen so Nathaniel could keep giving him details about their work while cooking. The comic led the conversation all throughout the meal too, with Marc happily recounting the colour theory lessons he took for the Rainbow Reverser arc, as well as being a face paint model when Nathaniel needed expressions for Mightillustrator. Even when the meal was over, Tom still had so many questions; now that he wasn't worried he was so excited for his brother's accomplishments.

“We’ll take care of the washing up,” Marc stood up, collecting the bowls from the table.

“Oh, I can help if you want.” Tom got up to help, only for Marc to shake his head.

“It’s just a few dishes. With Nath helping it goes really fast. Besides, you’ve had an eventful morning.”

“Why don’t you go look for some of the secrets I’ve hidden in the comic. There’s a certain bird hidden in every splash page. So far, I don’t think anybody has found them all.” 

Tom immediately went to the couch to start searching through the comic pages, while the other two started on the dishes. They worked in comfortable silence for a while, until Nathaniel let out a muffled sigh and leaned against the sink.

“That… didn’t end up so bad?” Nathaniel mumbled, sincerely hoping that akumatisations weren’t going to be a regular thing when meeting the Anciels. 

“You’re understating it. The fact that Tom’s warmed up to you so quickly is a miracle,” Marc finished drying the bowl he was holding and rested a hand on Nathaniel’s shoulder.
“And he was akumatised because he was worried about me, not anything you said.”

“How did-”

“You’re not hard to read,” he laughed, gently nudging Nathaniel with his hip as they continued with the washing up. There was another brief moment of quiet domestic comfort.

“So… Can I call you Marshmallow?”

“No. No you cannot.” Marc flatly stated, folding his arms.

“But it’s cute, Marshmallow .” Nathaniel leaned his face closer to Marc’s with a smug little grin.

Marc draped a tea towel over Nathaniel’s face and started to wash the cutlery in the sink.

“Fine, I won’t,” Nathaniel put the towel back on the rack with a little pout. “But why not?”

“Because it’s embarrassing! He gave me that nickname when I was six.” Marc lowered his voice and leaned against Nathaniel’s side.
“Besides…I like the other name you call me.”

Nathaniel dried his hands so he could wrap his arms around Marc from behind, standing on his toes to rest his chin on his boyfriend’s shoulder.

“I’m proud of you, my prince.”

“I love you.”

“I love you too.”

There was a small pause, then they both raised a fist and bumped them together in front of them.

“Pound it.”