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“You did what?” Ladybug stared Viperion and Multimouse down, amber eyes narrowed and white teeth bared. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”
Multimouse flinched. It had been three months since Luka and Marinette had revealed their superhero identities and had started dating, and they’d mutually decided to come clean to Ladybug.
The spotted superheroine didn’t give either of them a chance to answer. “Do you have any idea how dangerous this is? If either of you two end up akumatized, you’ll both be compromised.”
Viperion opened his mouth and shut it again. Having dated him for three months, the illusion of suave, confident Viperion had been broken; Multimouse knew Luka was flustered under the mask.
Multimouse wrung her hands. “The reveal was an accident. Blame my mother.”
“You’ve met her mother?” Ladybug couldn’t seem to decide whether she wanted to shriek or growl, so she snarled instead. She clenched her fists at her sides. “Chat, can you believe this?”
Ladybug stalked across the rooftop to where her partner, Chat Noir, stood. Multimouse watched him fold his arms across his chest and shake his head, and her stomach bottomed out. “No, Bug,” he said. “I figured the first person to reveal her identity would have been you.”
Ladybug snorted. “Keep dreaming, Kitty.”
Chat offered her a toothy grin. “That’s me, the dreamer.” Then he flicked his eyes up and down Viperion. “What do you have to say for yourself, Scales?”
Viperion’s silky-smooth voice floated over to Multimouse’s ears, causing heat to twist her gut. “Well, like the lady said, her mother blew her cover--not knowing who she was.” He smirked, and Multimouse bit back a gasp at the way his mouth turned up at the corners. “We met, she recognized me, and the rest is history.”
Ladybug prowled over to Viperion and stuck her finger under his nose. “Don’t you think I don’t know what you’ve been doing. These chases across the city--they have to stop.”
No! Multimouse nearly screamed, covering her mouth before she could do so. She spoke through her fingers. “B-But… But… They’re not hurting anyone!”
All three gazes snapped to hers. Chat cocked his blond head to the side. “Actually,” he said, tapping his chin, “if you’re chasing each other rather than patrolling, you might be missing akumas or other criminals.”
Ladybug grit her teeth. “I didn’t give you your Miraculous so you could make out.”
Viperion spread his giant hands in the air, palms up, and Multimouse wished those palms would skate down her suit. “Hey, let’s all be reasonable here. Multimouse and I will start patrolling for real and everything will be fine.”
He sounded as confident as ever, but the slight tremble to his fingers told Multimouse he was nervous. She wished she could walk over and take his hand, but she didn’t want to act overly familiar while getting a dressing down from Ladybug.
Ladybug pointed at Multimouse, who took a step back. “Has she even fought an akuma?”
Viperion’s lip curled. “Don’t talk about Multimouse like she’s not here.”
Multimouse twitched. She could correct him for doing the same thing later, possibly by taking his ear between her fingers and tugging hard. She straightened her shoulders, finding steel in her spine. “I’ve fought several.”
Truth be told, she’d only fought a dozen or so, and she was still on shaky grounds. Her powers were only useful in certain circumstances.
She always remembered the first time Viperion got hurt protecting her. The thought made her shudder now, even in the summer night.
Ladybug didn’t look impressed, but Chat’s brows rose. He offered Multimouse and Viperion a smile that looked like it’d sauntered across his face. “Well, there you have it, Bug. She’s fought several.”
Is he making fun of me? Multimouse was incensed, and Viperion looked even more pissed. Whose side is Chat on?
Viperion gave voice to her thoughts. “Whose side are you on, Chat Noir?”
Chat’s eyes narrowed to slits. “Ladybug’s. It’s me and her against the world. Always.”
Ladybug crossed to him and slugged him in the shoulder. “You’re just making this worse, you goof.” Chat yowled, rubbing his arm, but Ladybug turned to Multimouse. “Look. I’ll give you one more chance. Just one. Stop the chases, get your heads on straight, and no more reveals. To anyone.”
Multimouse didn’t know how she was going to function without the opportunity to have Viperion stalk her across the city. Maybe we can keep it on the downlow…
Viperion caught her eyes, and she nearly gasped at the worry she saw there. He was concerned, though she didn’t know what he was anxious about.
Is he worried Ladybug will take his Miraculous? Multimouse rubbed her arms. Despite the suit regulating her body temperature, she’d suffered a sudden chill. But she had to answer Ladybug.
Multimouse stopped hugging herself and faced the woman, hands loose and open at her sides. “We’ll stop the chases. We can be good heroes. You’ll see.”
Ladybug’s frown deepened, but she nodded. “Don’t disappoint me.”
***
As soon as Chat and Ladybug left, Multimouse rounded on Viperion. “What was that?”
Viperion kicked at imaginary dirt. He may as well have been wringing his hands, he was radiating so much anxiety. “Which part of it?”
“‘Don’t talk about Multimouse like she’s not here’?” Multimouse crossed to him and poked him in the chest. “Nice, Luka.”
Viperion ducked, his cheeks flaring to life with a reddish color that clashed with his mask. “Oh, yeah, uh… S’rry.”
Multimouse cupped his burning cheeks. “I forgive you. But… What were you so worried about, my love?”
Viperion bit his lip, a clear sign that he had something to say that he thought she might not like. “I was worried… that…”
Multimouse remained silent, letting him phrase his words in his head. After dating him for three months, she knew that he sometimes had trouble formulating sentences, especially when he was disquieted.
“I-I was worried…” Viperion gulped. “... that you might not like me if we couldn’t do the chases anymore.”
Multimouse sucked a breath over her teeth. She shook her head rapidly. “No, Luka. I love you. I love you. You are a wonderful person whose feelings are valid.” Multimouse grinned. “And like it or not, you’re stuck with me.”
Viperion’s brilliant answering smile made her melt. “Stuck with you, huh?”
Multimouse beamed. “Like glue to sandpaper.”
Viperion kissed her. His lips were soft and sensual, gliding across hers in a way where they just fit together, like tumblers in a lock. His fingers kneaded the back of her neck, and his other hand slid down to rest on her hip. Multimouse gladly opened for his questing tongue, but he broke the kiss before she could really drink him in.
“What?” Multimouse’s eyes widened. “What is it?”
“I’m not good with words.” Viperion smoothed his hand down to the small of her back, pulling him flush against him. “I can’t simply tell you what you mean to me, Marinette. But if you’ll allow me to show you… I’ll write you a song.”
Multimouse rubbed her nose against his. “I look forward to hearing it, dear heart.”
Viperion lit up with an eager, hopeful look she’d only seen on a golden retriever puppy. “Do you?”
“I’m not good with words either.” Multimouse tilted her chin up, her mouth hovering centimeters away from his. “But I want to tell you… I have never looked forward to anything more in my life.”
“Then… allow me to show you how much you mean to me.”
“Soon.” Multimouse pressed her lips to his again. “For now, just kiss me.”
Viperion didn’t waste any more time with words.