What if Felix met Multimouse before his appearance in canon?
What if Adrien wasn’t the only blond crushing on a super heroine in the family?
~~~~~~~
“Shit!” Felix cursed as he dodged a wayward akuma blast, the wall of the store he had been hiding beside becoming nothing more than a crumbling pile of bricks in his wake. He stumbled as the ground shook again, hazel eyes darting around to seek out another route away from the battlefront before the akuma-of-the-week targeted the blond directly instead of the thinning crowds around him.
‘There! I can hide in that alley!’ Felix rushed forward, panting as he sprinted across the street towards perceived safety. However, just before he could breach it, another blast struck the building to the left and the debris blocked the mouth of the alleyway – a few bricks slammed into his left leg, their bruising impacts ripping his pants and leaving a smattering of cuts on his thigh. By the way the material of his black slacks bloomed matching glossy spots, there were likely more bloody wounds than those visible through the tears. Cursing under his breath, he spun to his right to begin limping further down the avenue when the sound of maniacal laughter sent chills down his spine. Felix turned and dropped into a fighting stance; hazel eyes focused on the threat approaching slowly. The akuma was dressed as a Medieval court jester; bells jingling as they bounced from foot to foot, legs and arms as pale as snow and unnaturally long like some sort of spider. Eyes wild and toothy grin wide, their head tilted like an inquisitive puppy looking at a new toy.
‘Well, new fear unlocked…’ Felix thought, his rising panic hidden behind a carefully constructed mask of indifference and splotches of plaster dust.
“When I was a lad, I was gloomy and sad / As I was from the day I was born / When other babes giggled and gurgled and wiggled / I proudly was loudly forlorn. / My friends and my family looked at me clammily / Thought there was something amiss…” the akuma’s unhinged, sing-songed limerick coming out dejected as it approached slowly, their grin temporarily dropping into an overexaggerated frown. Felix took a cautious step back, was this the victim’s backstory?
“What else could he be but a Jester? / A Jester? A Jester! / A funny idea, a Jester!” Suddenly the akuma’s mouth stretched up into an unnaturally feral grin, like some sort of horror game villain – equal parts terrifying and disturbing that would certainly not haunt his dreams later – and squealed with joy, clapping its hands around their marotte. “Only the sharpest eye, the keenest nose / the quickest ear and the fleetest toes / Can ever outfox the Jester! Can ever outfox the Jester! / Only the stoutest arm, the bravest heart / with a magic charm and a good head start / Will ever outfox the Jester!”
The hazel-eyed teen braced himself to fight as the akuma lunged with a sharp jingle, marotte extended above their head as if to club the blond over his skull rather than shoot a blast from the tip. Out of nowhere and with a quiet fwip, a pink jump rope shot in front of the jester, tripping them. Just as soon as the rope appeared, it retracted in the blink of an eye and, in its place, a grey dressed figure somersaulted in the air directly above the flattened akuma. Time seemed to slow as Felix watched her pink hair ribbons flutter in the air behind the space buns holding back her hair, tresses as dark as a raven’s wing. His breath briefly caught as bright, bluebell eyes flashed – focused and calculating – from behind the edges of a baby pink domino mask. She brought her black booted feet together and ruthlessly planted them directly into the back of the akuma’s skull, impaling their head into the pavement like some sort of avenging Valkyrie taking down a mythical beast. Felix felt breathless and his knees turned to putty watching the graceful, powerful display. Just who was she?
Shaking off the foreign feelings clouding his mind, the blond limped backwards, unsure if this lithe woman was a friend or foe. Perhaps she would attack him next. Why did he feel a thrill at the idea of sparring with her? Focus! The movement drew the attention of those enchanting blue eyes. She squeaked in surprise, as if just noticing him for the first time. However, they took on an intelligent gleam, quickly assessing his physical state – those eyes pausing on his leg – as she approached him with her hands outstretched in a placating manner. “Um. Excuse me, garçon, I’m here to help. You need to evacuate. Are you badly injured?”
Ignoring the way that her sweet voice – which sounded like silk wrapped around steel – made his heartbeat quicken, he evaluated her for a threat. She was petite and so thin that it looked like the next strong breeze might knock her over. Hazel eyes trailed down the woman’s grey suit – lines of pink breaking the black and grey tightly hugging her tiny frame, the fabric caressing each toned curve and valley in a way that made his mouth run dry – before taking note of a familiar pink jump rope hanging around her waist like a tail. He relaxed fractionally and cleared his throat. “You were the one that tripped him before, weren’t you?” he questioned, gesturing to the now thrashing akuma attempting to free itself from the ground. If Jester had not been struggling to free themselves, Felix would liken the akuma’s current state to an ostrich hiding their head in a hole – the blond choked on a laugh over that mental image!
The grey suited woman glanced back and nodded, “I apologize but…we need to get you out of here before Jester sees us and decides to get revenge.” She drew out the jump rope and stepped into his personal space. Felix realized just how much shorter she was, the top of her head just barely clearing his shoulder, before her words finally registered.
“W-wait, what are you—OOF!” The lithe figure quickly lifted him in a fireman’s carry over her shoulder with shockingly little effort before whipping out the rope and tugging them into the air as if snapping a rubber band. Watching the ground flash by beneath them at a dizzying speed, Felix was pretty sure he was going to be sick. ‘What a way to go…throwing up while escaping an akuma, being manhandled by some superhuman, spandex wearing, midget!’ He refused to admit that this position also provided a lovely angle on some of her finer assets…which was distracting enough to assuage the rising bile in his throat.
With a jolt, they landed on a rooftop, but she only paused for a moment. The woman returned the rope to her waist and shifted him into a bridal carry before dashing quickly across the uneven terrain as if it were second nature. Felix’s arms instinctually wrapped around her neck in a desperate attempt to prevent being dropped. He glanced over her shoulder to see the rapidly expanding distance from whence he was kidnapped – perhaps rescued? – off the street while the wind whipped noisily past his ears. ‘It appears she’s just as strong and fast, even with my added weight,’ the blond thought with mounting admiration. The grey suited woman began to slow and hopped onto a flat roof with a small garden next to a fire escape, finally halting their advance and gingerly returning him to his feet. The blond attributed his racing heart from the unexpected flight rather than their proximity.
“Sorry about that! We didn’t have much time and I needed to get you away from that akuma before they freed themselves. You should be safe here and, if you’re not in too much pain, you can easily take the fire escape down to the streets. Just try to avoid Rue de Rivoli or else you might bump into our crazed jester friend again.” Her lips curved into a gentle smile that made him feel fluttery—er, reassured.
Felix furrowed his brow, “Who even are you?”
The woman blinked and opened her mouth to reply when a cry of “MOUSINETTE!” came from his right, followed by a black blur crashing into the grey suited woman. She stumbled back a few steps with a giggle that sounded like wind chimes dancing in sunlight. Wrapped around Felix’s savior, belt tail seemingly interweaving with the hanging jump rope length, was none other than a grinning Chat Noir. “What are you doing here?! Milady said she was sending in help, but I didn’t think she’d send you after…” The cat hero trailed off, one hand gesturing towards her mask. Now what was that about?
“O-Oh…Yeah…She said that it was just temp-temporary since she’s…uh…” The young woman glanced over towards Felix and then back to Chat, dropping her voice to a soft whisper, “…indisposed.”
“Indisposed? But isn’t her kwam—” Chat Noir looked confused before finally realizing they had company, his mouth dropping into a silent ‘oh’. “Gotcha. Ixnay.” Then he grinned again and ruffled her hair, “It’s good to see you again, Little Mouse! No one deserves it more than you!”
Her cheeks flared in rosy embarrassment and her lips protruded in a pout at the hero’s praise. “Um…I-I…Thank you, Chat. That’s very sweet but…uh, don’t get your hopes up?” The mousey girl cringed and backed away, tugging her jump rope free as she prepared for her departure.
Felix’s lips quirked up slightly at her increased nervous vocal quirks, ‘First she’s badass, then she’s adorable. Just who is she?’
“Since you’re more, uh experienced than me, wo-would you mind checking out this man’s le-leg? I’m heading back to see if Jester has um…broken free from where I…uh…left him.” With that, she scurried away, using her jump rope to swing back towards the akuma.
“Wow! You don’t know it, sir, but you’re a very lucky man… saved by THE Multimouse!” Chat crowed with joy while slitted eyes watched her disappear from sight.
“…Multi-who?” Felix questioned awkwardly, wondering why the cat hero appeared to be so excited.
Chat chuckled softly before turning to him, “Multimouse. She’s smart and funny and strong and sweet…She’s one of the temporary heroes, our greatest strategist (next to my Bugaboo, of course)! Our heavy hitter!”
“Is she some sort of stealth hero? I don’t recall ever hearing about her online…” In fact, he had researched all the heroes before this trip and found not a single mention of a mouse hero.
The black clad cat deflated slightly and sighed, “Yeah…she’s only been out once or twice before this…never really been caught on camera but something happened last time and…well, Ladybug said we couldn’t call her back out. I guess Milady decided it was enough of an emergency… Not that I mind!”
Felix took in the goofy smile that slowly stretched across Chat’s face while he looked off in the direction Multimouse had retreated. Suddenly he felt nauseous, as if something ugly was twisting up and clenching in his stomach, causing his neck to burn red. Unable to control his emotions any longer, his tone became clipped and hard as a lump of anger gripped his vocal cords. “Aren’t you…supposed to be in love with Ladybug?” Did he sound jealous? It was definitely not jealousy!
Chat Noir’s eyes widened comically, his arms swinging wildly in the air as if to physically dispel any misunderstanding. “Yes! Milady is the only one for me! B-but—wait...” Green eyes narrowed with suspicion and the cat stalked closer to the injured teen, his entire demeanor flipping like a switch: from nervous house cat to dangerous panther. Felix struggled to keep himself calm and attention locked on the approaching predator so that he could leap away at a moment’s notice. The cat leaned into his face before a huge grin broke through, his voice a smug murmur. “Do you have a crush on Mousinette?”
Now it was Felix’s turn to panic – eyes widening, heart racing, body trembling, and face burning red – as the image of a grey suited, blue-eyed Valkyrie popped up in his head. His mind replayed the way the breeze tugged at the ribbons in her hair, the obvious strength her petite body contained while effortlessly holding him, the intelligence that showed in her eyes, the blush painted across her cheeks and a giggle that made something inside him sing!
‘Oh…’ he thought dazedly. Sure, Felix had always heard of ‘love at first sight’ but had excused it as nothing more than romantic fantasy! Some unrealistic and overused movie trope! Yet here he was…falling for some mystery heroine that hadn’t even spoken more than a handful of meaningless sentences to him. Mortification bled through the warmth expanding in his chest.
Chat Noir’s grin became sharp, as if he could hear the hazel-eyed blond’s heart beating in time to the heroine’s name. “You and I aren’t so different; I was the same way for Ladybug. Don’t worry. Your secret is safe with me.”
~~~
He refreshed the Ladyblog and scrolled through the latest posts for possibly the hundredth time, the habit becoming a daily routine for the blond. There was no real evidence of Multimouse’s existence, merely anecdotal or the occasional passing comment about a pink jump rope appearing during a time of crisis. The only images captured during the Jester akuma were blurry and taken at too far of a distance, Felix checked. Thoroughly. He questioned his memory more with each passing day as little details seemed to slip away, like a well-worn film played so many times that the sound and images began to distort. He could recall that her voice and laughter were sweet but why was it so hard to remember the exact tone? Was she really as lovely as in his dreams? Did her eyes sparkle like the sun glancing off a lake’s surface or were they more like the color of a cloudless sky at noon? What was the shape of her face like again? Did she have freckles?
Frustrated, the blond refreshed the page yet again.
The next time that Felix visited Paris, he watched the skies for a streak of grey and pink. No matter how many akumas appeared, it was simply the original pair: Ladybug and Chat Noir. His attention was divided between his phone and the skies, constantly hoping for another glimpse of the heroine that stole his heart; enough that even his cousin seemed to notice the level of his distraction.
“Hey Fe, you seem really out of it. You okay?” Adrien asked, concern seeming to drip from every pore.
Felix sighed and dropped his phone back down into his lap, “Yes. Apologies, cousin, I’m simply…” He made a motion with one hand as if scrolling through a list of words before settling on one, “…distracted.”
The model approached and hung himself over the back of the couch like a discarded throw blanket, glancing down at what had captured his interest on the screen. “Oh, are you checking out the Ladyblog? My friend, Alya, actually runs it!”
The hazel eyed teen turned with interest, desperately he tried to keep hope from bleeding into his voice. “Do you know if she has a database of images of the various heroes, perchance?”
“Besides the gallery on the blog itself, no, I don’t think so. Why?”
Felix’s posture deflated a bit as he stifled a groan, “It’s…nothing.”
“Are you looking for a certain hero, maybe?” Adrien innocently asked.
“No!” The Londoner answered a little too quickly, unable to keep his ears from turning bright red as he denied the question emphatically.
A playful grin spread across the green-eyed blond’s face, “Yes, you are, Fe! Who is it? Was it a temporary hero during that attack you were caught up in last time?”
He gripped his phone and clenched his teeth, attempting to stifle the spread of the blush now blooming across his cheeks. Good gods, he would never live this down…but his cousin was a fan of the heroes, surely, he might have some information? He hated feeling vulnerable. Felix pressed his eyes shut as if pained to admit it, his voice coming out as more of a whispered hiss than he would care to admit. “…Yes.”
Adrien seemed to light up, “Really? Who was it?” Bouncing like a puppy with a new toy, the model’s eyes gleamed. “Viperion? Or perhaps Ryuko? Rena Rouge? Or...Carapace?! No judgment.”
Felix scoffed and looked down into his lap pensively, his fingers gliding over the darkened surface of his phone’s screen as he struggled to open up. “No…none of them. She doesn’t appear on the Ladyblog anywhere and there’s no pictures of her in battle…I—”
The model gently set a hand on his shoulder, finally hazel met green. “Hey, it’s okay to have a crush on whoever it is. I mean I…” He watched as his cousin blushed, his eyes looking out the wall of windows with a dreamy, far-off look. Felix couldn’t help but think that his cousin looked like some sort of melancholic-romantic lead pining for their lover. “I’ve…had a huge crush on Ladybug ever since she saved me.”
The formal boy stared at his cousin’s profile, dumbfounded at finding common ground with his lookalike. They had been raised so differently, had lost contact, lost parents, and pursued different routes in life… The model was like sunshine incarnate while the magician resembled that of a thunderstorm. All their lives, Felix had always been compared to Adrien and found lacking. Perhaps they weren’t so different after all?
Adrien sighed softly and turned his gaze back towards him, excited once more. “So? What was she like?”
“She…” He allowed his eyes to drift up briefly as he recalled the encounter once again. “She was…strong and agile. Small, but powerful, like some sort of petite battle angel.”
“Yeah… I’m a sucker for a strong woman, too.” Adrien climbed over the sofa and settled beside him with a chuckle, leaning back so that the model’s face looked up at the ceiling. “And beautiful.”
“Graceful,” Felix supplied with an agreeable hum, lost in thought as his eyes drifted down to his lap once again. Fingers tracing the edges of his phone case as the image of bright eyes framed by a pink mask flooded his memories.
“Kind,” his cousin sighed into the air around them, his mind’s eye bringing forward images of his Lady.
“Capable.”
“Smart.”
“Clever.”
“Confident.”
“…yet adorable.”
“Especially how her nose crinkles when she laughs…”
“Laughter that makes your heart dance.”
“And a smile that makes you feel warm all over.”
“With blue eyes as clear as crystal…”
“Hair the color of the midnight sky…”
Felix laughed wryly, “Almost sounds like we’re in love with the same girl.”
“Oh gods, I think we have a type!” Adrien’s whole body shook with his laughter.
“Seems so, cousin!” The formal boy’s chuckles died out as the original issue arose to the forefront of his mind yet again. “At least you can find pictures of Ladybug all over the blog. Multimouse doesn’t appear on camera nor is she called out much. It’s…It’s like she never existed!” He ran a hand through his hair in visible frustration.
“Yeah, I’ve…uh…heard rumors of a mouse hero. But I’ve um, never seen her myself,” the model admitted while twisting his ring. “Wait! What if I ask Chat Noir – he, uh…patrols nearby sometimes – to get you a picture?”
Felix scoffed at the idea, “That’s not likely to happen. Even that cat mentioned that she is hardly ever called out to help. Besides, I don’t need any of the heroes to find out about my…inclinations. They might think I’m some sort of stalker and never call her out again.” Crossing his arms, he glared at the tops of his knees.
“Oh. Um.” Adrien seemed to deflate a little, his eyes twitching back and forth pensively as if trying to find an answer. “Then…what if you describe her to me and I can try to get my friend to draw her for you? His name’s Nathaniel, he’s really good – even has his own Ladybug comic book! Here, I’ll show you some of his work.”
Felix watched as his cousin pulled up a few screenshots he had saved of the bug heroine – obviously full colored, pre-print cells from the final draft – and was begrudgingly impressed. “That…that might just work. I…” He furrowed his brow and cleared his throat; an uncomfortable tightness having lodged deep in his chest. Hazel eyes rose to look into the model’s face once again, his voice a murmur of gratitude. “Thank you, Adrien.”
A genuine smile stretched across the model’s face. “Hey, what is family for?”
~~~
A few weeks later, a small package arrived at Felix’s door in London with a return address from Paris.
Retreating to the privacy of his room, the blond allowed his emotions to go unguarded as he quickly peeled back the tape with anticipation. A small gasp echoed in the silent room as hazel eyes finally laid upon the contents. Inside the rigid packaging and protected by a stiff plastic sleeve, lay three realistic drawings of various sizes and poses, all professionally colored and inked in a way that made it seem almost like the heroine could jump straight off the page.
“Multimouse…” his whispered voice filled with awe and admiration.
Felix pulled the largest image from the sleeve, an action shot that he had described in great detail – repetitively – to Adrien. Jump rope curled around her waist, ribbons blowing in the breeze, her booted feet together and arms extended above her head as she came down upon the akuma… Suddenly he felt as if he was right back in that moment! The artist had drawn her form as if hovering in the air, looking like an instant frozen in time, and filled in the background with a simple watercolor burst that accentuated the grays, pinks, and dark blues in the rest of the piece. With trembling fingers, he reverently traced the curve of Multimouse’s domino mask. He gazed into the bright blue eyes that had bewitched him and haunted his dreams. Somehow Adrien’s artist friend had even perfectly captured the determined sparkle in her eyes!
Gently setting that drawing aside, he pulled the medium sized image out next and found another action shot of the heroine mid-flight. Jump rope extended beyond the paper’s edges, legs extended behind her in freefall, her eyes partially closed against the wind whipping at her face – it was a beautiful vision! However, what captured his interest and stole his breath was the bright smile stretched across her face. She looked so carefree and relaxed, as if she were simply patrolling the rooftops with the rest of the team. Had they used Ladybug for reference? Or did someone see her recently?
No, if she had been seen, it would have been on the Ladyblog.
Placing that piece beside the other on his desktop, Felix finally pulled the last from the sleeve. Unlike the others, this one was laminated and covered by a sticky note in Adrien’s usual scrawl.
Dear Fe,
I asked Nath to make this one small enough to fit in your wallet.
We asked my very good friend, Marinette, to pose for it.
I hope you like it!
~AA
The hazel eyed teen scoffed and peeled it away, freezing once he revealed the image beneath. The mouse heroine was pictured sitting on the edge of a building, reclined back on one arm while glancing over her shoulder almost flirtatiously, the sunset and Eiffel Tower behind her so that part of her face was cast in shadow. One delicate hand was brushing her bangs from her eyes, a shy smile upon her lips, her body language open and comfortable. The angle was close enough to make out long lashes and a light blush on her freckled cheeks. It almost felt as if she were looking right at him!
Knees shaking from the weight of his overwhelming emotions and eyes still locked on the small drawing, he sat heavily into the desk chair with a sharp creak in protest. Felix raised a hand to his chest, as if trying to calm the rapidly thumping organ currently threatening to flee from his body. His imagination ran wild – supplanting memories of the Jester with daydreams of shy smiles, sweet giggles, and teasing banter as they watched the sunset…
‘Wow…’ thought Felix, looking back over the three drawings before his eyes settled back on the one still in his hand. ‘I don’t know how I’m ever going to return the favor for this… Perhaps I can help my cousin with his crush the next time I visit?’
After all, what could possibly go wrong?
~~~~~~~Author's Notes: I had a this thought and decided to type it up. I'm the only one to blame here. I couldn't stop myself if I tried. I swear, I don't know why my brain spits this stuff out…
Jester lines are modified prose from character dialogue in 'The Court Jester' (1955).
Jester's visuals were inspired by a combination of Spinel (corrupted) from 'Steven Universe', Joker from 'Batman', and Huggy Wuggy and Mommy Longlegs from 'Poppy's Playtime'. Disturbing enough? Check.
Marotte: Originally the medieval fool's stick or sceptre, a short rod topped with a small head.
Adrien hints about Marinette's secret mouse identity, said hint goes right over Felix's head.
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the
Organization for Transformative Works
Kagami goes on a self-imposed quest to save a terrible place from meeting its timely demise.
Chapter 1: Here There Be Dragons
Summary:
Now leaving heaven:
A cat has joined your party.
---------------
Kagami rolled among the clouds, riding the jet streams of the upper sky. Her long snake-like body glinted scarlet and gold in the late afternoon sun. The wind whipping against her mane and whiskers and antlers. She held her four claws close to her side and closed her eyes.
"Having fun?"
Snapping open, Kagami's slitted pupils tracked the source of the voice. A shadow leapt across the fluffy clouds, stark against their color; keeping up with her despite her speed.
Ah, him. Relaxing, she allowed herself a grin before suddenly twisting straight down. The cat let out a yelp as he overshot his mark, quickly following her to the earth.
Keeping one eye on the cat Kagami sought the cover of forest. Shifting into mortal form as soon as she was hidden in the leaves. There she waited.
And not long. Kagami's keen ears heard him shifting as he landed on the forest floor. Had she been any other he would be as silent as a cat. But she was a dragon.
"Ka-ga-mi!" He sing-songed, voice echoing so that if she did not have him in sight she would not know where it came.
Her fingers twitched impatiently as he stepped closer. She forced them still. More than one of her ambushes had been exposed because of her fidgeting. He came nearer. One more... One more... Now!
Kagami leapt from her hiding place and had the satisfaction of seeing his eyes widen in surprise before they tumbled to the ground.
"Ah, hello to you too," Adrien grunted. He wore black robes in the style of the western gods.
In her scarlet kimono (which would be very restrictive for a mortal) Kagami sat on him. "This marks my twelve thousand four hundred and fifty second win to your twelve thousand four hundred and twenty-three."
"Yes, yes, very impressive, I can't breathe!"
"Don't be so dramatic," Kagami replied without the barest hint of irony. Still, she rose off of her fellow deity. "You know we don't need to breathe."
" 'Don't be so dramatic,' says the dragon" Adrien muttered, cleaning himself off as he stood up. "Tackles me to the ground, goes running off without a word, leaves me to deal with-"
"You mean like all the times I bailed you out after you did something stupid?"
"Name one stupid thing I've done!"
Before Kagami could begin listing the long, long, long, long line of dumb ideas Adrien's had since Creation itself he cut her off.
"This century!"
Cheater. Well, at least it was a good one. Kagami grinned smugly. "You made Marinette mad at you."
Red bloomed on Adrien's cheeks as he spluttered a reply. "You said you wouldn't bring that up again!"
"I did no such thing." Kagami turned smartly away from him and began walking. "You begged me not to mention it and I said I'd consider it."
"Oh, very clever," Adrien replied sarcastically, following.
"Thank you."
"Anyways, what're you doing out here?"
A demon burst out of the foliage and charged at them. Alerted by their bickering, the brute brandished a club overhead. Saliva dripping from its tusks, maw towering over them.
Kagami shifted. Thunder roared from her mouth lined with sharp teeth. Claws like swords, scales like fire in the lengthening shadows. Long, muscular body dwarfing her opponent's. Narrowed eyes promising a quick end.
The demon dropped its club and ran, letting out frightened squeals.
Adrien held his palm up, shadows coalescing into a sphere of pure darkness. Casually, he tossed it at the retreating demon. "You didn't answer my question."
The demon collapsed as the orb of shadow struck it square in the back. A rabbit sprinting away from where it fell.
Still in dragon form Kagami picked up the crude club with two talons like it was a baby mortal's diaper, snout wrinkling in distaste. "Have all smiths vanished from among the demons?" She tossed the so-called weapon aside. "I remember them being much more of a challenge."
Adrien puffed out his chest. "Your welcome."
Kagami snorted, shifting back into mortal form. "We could have left them a sword at least."
"You didn't answer my question," Adrien pointed out.
"Did I not?" Kagami asked innocently. Or rather tried to. Adrien often pointed out that she was far too honest to lie properly.
"Please, don't let this dragon!" Adrien grinned.
She wasn't smiling. No, her lips did not twitch upwards. "That was terrible."
"Well, sorry that I've had a long flight!"
"Wrong language."
"It was ryu-ly tiring!"
Kagami whirled on Adrien and put a hand over his smirking face. "Stop!" She would not be bested by second class material!
"Mm tho enn u the mm at nno!" Adrien mumbled through her fingers.
His breath tickled so she pulled her hand away. "What?"
"Ah! I said, I'll stop when you tell me what I wanna know." Adrien rubbed his nose in a way Kagami could only describe as cat-like.
Shaking the distracting thought from her head, Kagami focused on what had brought her out here in the first place. "There is a city that's been cursed with drought."
Adrien stiffened. "O-oh?"
"It's been a year. Their reserves are almost gone." Kagami quickened her pace as she thought about what would happen to all those mortals if they didn't get rain soon. "The council won't do anything! They just sit there and 'pass judgment'. Which really means doing nothing! What good are they if-"
"It wasn't a council matter."
Kagami paused. Turning, she saw Adrien fidgeting nervously. "... What did you do?"
"Why does it have to be something I did?" Adrien asked defensively.
"Was it?" Kagami demanded, peering straight into Adrien's eyes.
"Okay, fine! I cursed the city! There, are you happy?"
"You gave an entire city drought!?"
"No, of course not!"
"Adrien," Kagami walked up to him and, ignoring the height he had on her, pinned him to a tree with her arm. "What was the wording exactly."
"May you reap what you sow."
A chill went down her spine and she dropped her arm. A curse like that... Rumors, deceptions, lies. They were all seeds of nothing. And apparently the curse decided the best way to reap nothing was to make sure nothing grew.
She sighed. "A year. They had a year to break the curse themselves." A growl of annoyance grew in her throat and Kagami shifted to better indulge the urge.
Adrien shifted into his great cat form, shoulders level with hers, and bumped against her scales. "How did you find out about them anyway?"
"I heard someone pray for them."
"Ah."
Kagami didn't need to ask what they'd done. It was all semantics. All that mattered was that most of them had learned nothing from it. And yet... "How did they attract your attention?"
His slitted eyes narrowed further as shadow black fur bristled. "They desecrated the hall of judgment."
Kagami's mane rose as her whiskers trembled. The hall of judgment was both court of law and temple to justice. If any god besides Adrien had stumbled onto them... They were exceedingly lucky misfortune was all they suffered. "Morons."
"Extremely," Adrien agreed, pressing his giant, warm, feline body closer and purring.
"They do not deserve my help," Kagami declared, laying down and curling her tail around Adrien.
"Nope," he followed her example and stretched out on the leaves covering the forest floor. "But you're gonna help anyways, aren't you."
"Obviously." Kagami turned her long, serpentine neck so she could rub her muzzle against Adrien's.
No mortal would have been able to read how Adrien's face softened while in his current form. "I love that you're so kind."
"You're forgetting about that fleet I turned into driftwood."
"Bragging about your exploits does not diminish the compassion you feel for others. And that armada had it coming."
If Kagami was still in her mortal form she would have blushed. Thankfully, that was physically impossible for dragons. Instead she touched the tip of her nose with Adrien's. "You'll help me?"
"If you need it," he acknowledged easily. "One little curse should be no match for your storms."
"Your curses are hardly that simple, Adrien." His tail flicked happily, as though she'd given him a great compliment. Kagami knew he disliked using his curses cavalierly but like any god Adrien took pride in his work.
"Then we should get going." He stood and stretched like an overgrown housecat. "Traveling in the lower world takes so long when you don't have Max with you."
"I hope that wasn't another pun."
"If I'm feline punny what business is that of yours?"
In response Kagami took off. Letting the wind she summoned buffet Adrien; his protests following her as he leapt into the air. Her laughter booming like thunder as they raced across the sky.
Notes:
@kagamiappreciationweek2020 Written for Kagami Appreciation Week 2020. (The accuracy of the title is yet to be determined.) Is this all going to be self-indulgent nonsense? I mean, yeah, probably.
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
Adrien isn't quite sure what to do.
Master Fu has known for a while that both Alya and Adrien use their animal forms more than the others, far more often than is probably wise, and it seems odd that he wouldn't have mentioned this particular danger if he'd been aware of it.
But that their shapeshifted forms can apparently, sometimes, refuse to revert seems like something that should have come with a warning.
OKAY round these parts it's still 10/4 for an hour so I made it.
Todays is ML themed, cause I had to get in on that witchy Mari and Catdrien goodness. So day 4 of Witchtober - plant witch by @juanjoltaire mixed with day 4 of inktober - spell. Really happy with all the plants!!
Okay so I'm all for having Adrien act like a cat; but I'm also all for Plagg acting like a cat (sitting in boxes, chasing lasers, and pushing things off other things) and Adrien having to pretend he was doing those things to cover for the little black menace
