An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Invader Zim
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Dib & Professor Membrane (Invader Zim), Dib & Zim (Invader Zim), Professor Membrane & Zim (Invader Zim)
Characters: Dib (Invader Zim), Professor Membrane (Invader Zim), Zim (Invader Zim)
Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - Zombies, First Meetings, Enemies, Zombie Zim (Invader Zim), Oblivious Professor Membrane, Drabble
Series: Part 2 of RetroWriMay 2026
Summary:
Zim is hired to work at a coffee shop within Membrane Labs.
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“That’s not a barista! That’s a zombie!”
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@retrowrimay Day 1 - Coffee Shop AU
@retrowrimay Alternate Prompt 5 - Zombie AU
@retrowrimay Day 26 - True Drabble
This was originally written for PRPR March but I missed like all of my deadlines... So I hope you enjoy it.
Summary:
The storm hit at just the worst time, and now they were stuck on the other side of Paris, in an abandoned building, with only each other for company, and oh yeah, she hated him. Great.
The (not so) Perfect Storm
Perfect, just perfect.
Ladybug stared out of the broken window of an abandoned building and watched the rainfall. It was getting worse; he could just tell without even looking for long. And it probably wasn’t going to let up any time soon. So here he was, stuck with Ladybug, watching the rain.
“I can’t believe Hawkmoth had to just send an Akuma out who chose running away as the best tactic,” Ladybug said.
“Yeah, he’s just the worst,” Chat Noir added glumly.
He wasn’t exactly overjoyed at having to spend the extra time with Ladybug, with Marinette. They’d accidentally stumbled upon each other’s identities in the changing rooms at school, and whilst Marinette was probably the best person he could think of pulling off Ladybug, she clearly didn’t share that opinion of him being Chat Noir.
“I-I’m going to slow to glass, go to pass, class! Bye!” she had said before she ran out of the room. He hadn’t even been able to say anything to her.
He still hadn’t.
Who was he kidding though? She’d barely said two words to him all year anyway and even when she did it was only when it was necessary for her duties as class president. And with their revelation, her avoidance of him increased tenfold. Clearly, she hated that he was Chat Noir. He’d never get a chance to talk to her without it bearing bad news. Best to avoid it and keep at least a peaceful work relationship then.
He rubbed his arms at the chill from the windows and looked around to see if there was some way he could stop the cold from reaching them. He spotted the curtain tied back and went to pull it over at least part of the window.
And great, it had holes in it to match the window, yay!
Ladybug helped him adjust it so that it got as much of the window covered as they could though. It surprised him that she helped even that much, though he guessed as they had worked together all day fighting the Akuma she still felt like being a team.
Oh no, did she even still want him? She hadn’t said otherwise, but maybe she was trying to find a way to break it to him gently. Maybe this storm is the perfect situation to break the news to him and then she’ll take his miraculous and leave him stranded in the cold on the other side of Paris. He’d have to call Natalie and get Gorilla to pick him up and then he’d have to explain why he was all the way on the other side of the city and at the site of the Akuma. That might expose his identity. But by then it wouldn’t be his anymore.
Ladybug wasn’t talking, she’d gone to the other side of the room.
What if she just left him? She could just up and go, grab his miraculous and run. No, he’d put up a fight. For Plagg. He turned and faced the window, determined not to let her get his miraculous. His other hand covered the ring. It wouldn’t be easy for her to take it, sure. But she was the guardian, maybe she had special guardian powers, like that time Master Fu took it from him in his sleep.
She would warn him first though, right? Ladybug always gave a chance to the Akuma, she’d do the same for him, right? Even if it was to hand it over willingly, right?
A hand was on his shoulder. A hand. Ladybug. No.
He jerked his shoulder away from the touch and raised his arms ready to defend himself.
“Chat?”
He blinked, and Ladybug’s hand was in front of him, still outstretched to where his shoulder would have been. He stepped back and dared to look at her face.
She was… confused? Why was she confused? Surely, she’d expect him to defend himself, protect his miraculous.
“Chat, is everything alright?” She took a step towards him. Her face told him she was worried about him. His back hit the curtain as he took another step away from her.
This was all that she needed, and she took another step towards him. His back pressed even further against the curtain; he could feel the cool wind coming through its holes. Move your hands, Adrien! Call for cataclysm, something, anything, stop her! He didn’t move, he couldn’t move. Her hands chased him.
He squeezed his eyes shut and apologised to Plagg in his head.
Cold. Cold face? Her hands were on his face.
He blinked his eyes open and stared at Ladybug’s eyes as they moved frantically across his face. She hadn’t reached for his miraculous. Her cold hands were cupping his face, her thumb wiping a wetness over his mask, just trailing to the edges of his cheek.
“Adrien,” she said. A frown decorated her lips.
“Please, don’t take Plagg away from me,” he interrupted. Maybe she’d take pity. As if his word had any say in the matter. Stupid.
“Plagg? What Chat, why would I take Plagg from you?” Ladybug dropped her hands from his face.
“Why wouldn’t you?” he mumbled. He knew she would.
“No, Chat, no. Plagg is yours unless you’re siding with Hawkmoth,” she paused, her nose scrunching up in confusion. “You’re not siding with-“
“No! No, I’m not, never, my lady,” he rushed out, his hands automatically coming up to grab hers and assure her of his sincerity. He would never. Her hands squeezed his fingers. He dropped them in shock. He hadn’t meant to hold them, that’s far too close to his miraculous. Control yourself, Agreste.
“Then you don’t have anything to worry about, chaton.”
He has plenty to worry about, thank you very much. Marinette hadn’t spoken a word to him in days, Marinette didn’t like him, and the girl in front of him was Marinette. As if hearing his thoughts, Ladybug dropped her transformation.
“Hey kitty, look at me,” Marinette said. This time she didn’t try to step closer to him.
He looked up, regardless of how scared he was, he wasn’t about to disobey a simple command. She was crying, and it registered that he was crying too.
“I don’t know what is going on right now. Kitty, I’m sorry for whatever I have done or not done or said that’s hurting you but let me tell you one thing. Plagg is yours, and you are my Chat Noir, the only Chat Noir I will ever want.”
He wanted to believe her, he really did. He wanted to be Chat Noir, and keep Plagg, and keep fighting Hawkmoth. He wanted the tears in her eyes to go away, to be able to hold her like he used to after a tough battle. But she was Marinette right now, and as much as he could probably convince himself to hug Ladybug, this was the most Marinette had spoken to him in days, and he just couldn’t do that without her permission. To get that permission he needed to talk.
“Ladybug- Marinette, I don’t-“ he sniffed, stared at the ground, wrang his hands out in front of him. “This week has been the hardest week of my life. And you were you, and that’s amazing, you’re amazing. Every day I woke up thinking, today’s the day, she’ll talk to me, and we’ll be back to how things were before, best friends, fighting crime, side by side. Except you didn’t, and I didn’t know what to do. It felt like you hated me, hated that I was Adrien. I hated that I was Adrien.” His hands shook the more he spoke. “I just- I may be Chat Noir but I need to know, do you hate that I’m me?”
He was scared to look up, maybe she’d decide he wasn’t worth the mess he was. Tears flowed down his face and snot-filled his nose and his shoulders shook.
“No! Adrien, no, absolutely not,” She exclaimed immediately.
He looked up. She was crying almost as much as he was.
“I don’t hate you, I could never hate you. Adrien-“
Her body moved forward, one hand stretching out towards him. His hand stretched out automatically and grasped hers. Her other hand came up and pointlessly wiped away tears from her face, only to be replaced with more as she continued.
“- I am so sorry. This is all my fault. If I had just been honest with my own feelings. Adrien, you are so much more than I could ever be, I thought you would hate me, so I ran. I was selfish, I didn’t even consider how that would affect you, and I promise never to cut you off again. I am so sorry.”
The curtain smacked into his back with a gust of wind.
That was it, his body moved forward of its own accord. His arms circled her body and pulled her to him in a hug he had so desperately missed. She shook in his hold, and he could feel her tears against his neck as she burrowed into him.
“I could never hate you, my lady,” he mumbled into her hair. Even when he thought she was going to take everything from him, he couldn’t hate her. “You are the only person who I would want to be Ladybug.”
“And you are the only one who I could want to be my partner.”
…
In the end, being stuck on the other side of Paris in the middle of a storm gained him his partner back. Despite the cold and the wet, both outside and on their faces, this storm was perfect. He’d have to thank Hawkmoth later.
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Invader Zim
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Dib/Zim (Invader Zim)
Characters: Dib (Invader Zim), Zim (Invader Zim)
Additional Tags: 20 Things, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Enemies to Lovers, Denial, POV Second Person, but its dib addressing himself, Drabble, retrowrimay, retrowrimay26, fitting 100 words in this format was one of the trickier things to plan, Gay Dib (Invader Zim)
Series: Part 5 of RetroWriMay 2026
Summary:
Soon you won't be on your own anymore.
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@retrowrimay Day 7 - Soulmate AU
@retrowrimay Day 20 - 20 Truths
@retrowrimay Day 26 - True Drabble
