Archive of Our Own

It’s not that Nathaniel was nervous, he was just a little skeptical.

Don’t get him wrong, Marc is a fantastic writer. His writing was so good, Nathaniel literally thought he’d been reading Ladybug’s actual diary. There’s no doubt that Marc had more than enough talent for a comic book.

The problem was, they’d gotten off to such a rocky start, and even the encouragement from Ladybug wasn’t enough for Nathaniel to feel confident about this.

He’d jumped the gun, and not only tore into Marc unfairly, but he destroyed his notebook as well, something that was clearly very precious to him.

Nathaniel had gotten his sketchbooks destroyed multiple times in his life. Either from bullies, or from his own mother, he knew what it felt like.

He still couldn’t believe he’d gone that far. There was no excuse.

The point is, Nathaniel wasn’t sure if there was any real chance of recovery. There’s no way Marc wasn’t still angry at him for what he’d done. What if he didn’t even show up today and just agreed to the comic book idea so he could get back at Nathaniel and make him look stupid?

‘There you go again, assuming the worst…’ His mind grumbled. Nathaniel sighed heavily and debated going to look for Marc, but then he heard a familiar squeak.

He lifted his head and glanced over towards the door to the art room. Marc stood there like a deer in headlights, clutching his damaged notebook tightly in his arms.

Nathaniel’s shoulders relaxed, and he smiled slightly. “You actually show up. I thought maybe you changed your mind for a second.”

Marc shuffled into the room, keeping his head down. “O-Oh, no, never, I just- I wasn’t sure- I’m sorry.”

“What are you sorry for?” Nathaniel had to ask.

Marc gave a weak shrug in reply. “M-Making you wait, I guess?”

Jeez.

Thirty seconds in and Nathaniel could tell this was going to take a minute. They’d have no prayer in making a comic book if they could barely talk to each other.

“You wanna sit?” Nathaniel prompted, gesturing to the stool beside his.

Marc let out a flustered noise. “Oh- right, sorry.” Nathaniel had a feeling he was going to hear that word a lot.

The anxious boy sat down beside him, fiddling with his notebook in his hands. An awkward silence followed.

Nathaniel bit his lip, trying to figure out what to say to break the ice. “Hey, um, listen, about yesterday. I’m really sorry about your notebook, that wasn’t cool. At all.”

“Huh? Oh, uh, it’s okay.” Marc mumbled, staring down at the notebook. Had he even looked Nathaniel in the eyes once yet?

Nathaniel frowned. “It’s not, but thanks. I’d like to make it up to you. Let’s make an awesome comic together, okay?” He encouraged kindly, nudging Marc’s arm with his elbow.

But it just made Marc flinch. “Oh um, sure. I just- I um, I was thinking-“ He started, but seemed to shrink on himself. “Er, never mind, you probably have plenty of ideas already.”

“Hey, come on, this is supposed to be a joint effort. If you got ideas, I want to hear them.” Nathaniel insisted. “The stuff you’ve already written about was great, and…seems to be based off my drawings from the school website?”

Marc’s cheeks flushed, and he stuttered. “Oh, uh, that’s- that’s just- I-I guess so, I mean, your drawings were so good, they conveyed so much in a single piece, the expressions always told a thousand words and I just thought-“ He seemed to cringe at his own words. “This sounds weird, huh? I’m sorry.”

“You…really don’t have any confidence in yourself, do you?” Nathaniel had to note, with a hint of teasing in his tone. But when Marc didn’t reply, Nathaniel softened his tone. “Listen to me, your story is great, and it totally captures the story I was trying to tell through my drawings.”

Marc dared to look at him, if only for a moment.

“Why don’t we try this? Let me show you some concept sketches I had in mind for the comic, and you can tell me what speaks to you.” Nathaniel insisted kindly before taking the drawings out of his portfolio. He set them on the table for Marc to see.

Instantly, like a switch being flipped, Marc gasped softly, eyes widening in awe as he scanned over the pages, taking in every detail. “Oh wow…even just concept sketches…the way you draw the eyes, the curves of their mouths, even their postures. You’re able to express so much in their body language without even trying! It’s like I’m looking directly into the characters’ souls…”

Nathaniel’s smile widened. He didn’t really get why his art seemed to be the only thing that could get Marc talking without fear in his voice, but he welcomed the praise. He appreciated any kind words people had to say about his art, but so few could vividly explain what they liked about it in this much detail.

But Marc didn’t stop there. Caught up in his passion, he kept talking. “You know, I bet we could have Evillustrator come into play against another villain. He could team up with Ladybug and Cat Noir and that could be the start of their partnership, plus if we use another villain then that opens up another potential character for later plot points who could also join the team-“

Nathaniel stared, mouth falling open a little as Marc rambled, seemingly flawlessly coming up with the entire plot. He was still going! Nathaniel felt guilty for missing some of it because he was just in awe at seeing this other side of the boy.

“-but we need to make sure we keep the concept flexible. Still, it might work if we do it that way because then that opens up something for Cat Noir and that’ll wrap up the love triangle situation later with Ladybug and Evillustrator, don’t you think? …Nathaniel?”

Nathaniel snapped out of his shock to see Marc staring at him, waiting for his opinion. “Huh? Oh, uh, yeah, totally.”

But it was clear by Marc’s expression that he knew Nathaniel hadn’t been paying attention. He hunched over again, looking just as unconfident as when he showed up. “Or…you know, maybe not. We can do something else, really, whatever you want is fine.”

Crap.

Nathaniel scrambled to explain, waving his hands wildly. “Wait, wait, I didn’t think it was bad, I think it’s great! I was just shocked that you just…came up with all of that on the spot. You did it so effortlessly.” He smiled. “I guess that’s the talent of a writer, huh?”

That flush returned to Marc’s cheeks. He really wasn’t used to compliments, was he?

“Oh, no, a-anyone can do it, I’m sure.” He fiddled with his fingers shyly. “B-But um, if you like that plot idea…then we can build off of it.”

Nathaniel grinned. Now they were getting somewhere. “Totally! Why don’t you start working on the script, and I’ll just draw some opening shots? You know, like scenery pieces.”

Marc’s eyes widened. “R-Really? Just like that? W-Well okay, but who s-should the first villain they fight be? The one that bands them all together? You have them fight against Queen Wasp, and that sets the stage for the future partnership, b-but I still think it should take a second team up before they’re officially working together.”

After a few moments of thought, the answer felt pretty clear to Nathaniel. “Why not Reverser?”

His heart ached a little at the way Marc paled at the mention of his villain alias. “You…You want to put…Reverser into our comic?”

Nathaniel shrugged. “Why not? Evillustrator is in it. Although, the plan was to rename him into Mighty-Illustrator, but I don’t see why Reverser couldn’t be the same way.”

Marc hesitated, unsure of how to put his feelings into words. He looked down anxiously. “I um…I don’t know about that…”

Maybe it was too soon. Nathaniel’s had over a month to get over his own Akumatization. Marc’s happened yesterday. He didn’t want to push him, or make him uncomfortable.

“Hey, if you’re not into it, that’s fine.” He assured the anxious boy. “I’m not trying to pressure you. I just thought it’d be fun. This is our story, so do whatever makes you comfortable.”

Marc gave a tiny nod, and spoke so quietly that Nathaniel had to strain his ear to hear it. “I’ll um…I’ll try it out in the script and see what I think…”

Nathaniel smiled. “Cool, I look forward to reading it.”

Over the next three days, Nathaniel learned some interesting things about Marc.

One: He apologizes for literally everything, even things completely out of his control or not involving him in the slightest.

Two: He really loves watching Nathaniel draw (Nathaniel had caught him staring at least eight times over the three days)

Three: When Marc gets focused on his writing, he’s unstoppable.

It was both alarming and incredible how quickly Marc could write. Sometimes he wrote so fast and so intensely that Nathaniel expected to see smoke come from the friction of the pen and paper.

Every time he’s on a roll, Marc’s face pinches up in concentration and nothing can break it. Sometimes Nathaniel would say something, and Marc didn’t even notice because he was too busy jotting down whatever he was writing.

It was cute, and impressive, and a little intimidating.

But the moment Marc stopped writing, he always went back to his hunched over, anxious self, terrified of everyone and everything.

“I-I guess it’s ready, but it’s just a first draft so it’s not really any good, b-but hopefully it’s enough of a start for us to build it into something decent.” Marc explained nervously as he handed the script pages to Nathaniel.

Nathaniel took them with care and started reading them over. Marc busied himself with writing in his notebook, which Nathaniel appreciated, it would’ve been hard to read with Marc staring at him.

Another thing Nathaniel learned, though this one he kind of already knew, Marc was brilliant.

Even in a script format, the dialogue he came up with flowed beautifully. He even jot down descriptions of how he imagined the characters posed, their expressions, the scenery around…

It was so detailed. So professional.

So beautiful.

“U-Um…” Nathaniel’s head snapped up to see Marc looking at him with a terrified expression. “You haven’t s-said anything in like ten minutes…and I can tell you stopped reading. Y-You hate it, don’t you? I’m sorry. I’ll redo-“

Nathaniel did a double take. Right. He really needed to watch those long silences; he was dealing with somebody actually more insecure than himself somehow.

He quickly cut Marc off. “Marc, it’s amazing.”

Marc froze, eyes going all wide. “…It is?”

Nathaniel let out a small laugh of disbelief. “Are you kidding me? Marc, it’s so detailed, and the conversations flow so well…I can’t believe you did this in three days. You completely wrote out the first issue! And I see you did decide to go with Reverser too.”

“O-Oh, well, I just…” Marc fiddled with his hands, cheeks blazing. He looked down. “I-I said I’d try it, so…”

“Marc, this is great. Seriously.” Nathaniel told him sincerely. “I’m excited to draw it out. Are you…are you okay? With putting Reverser in? You don’t have to if it really bothers you, but…he seems like a good fit.”

Marc’s cheeks got even darker. He turned his whole body away from Nathaniel, looking down at the table. “…If you really think it’s good…then…okay.”

“Don’t just say yes on my account.” Nathaniel scolded gently. “This is a team effort, Marc. We’re partners, you’re not my assistant or something.”

That made Marc’s head snap up. He looked at Nathaniel with wide eyes. “R-Right, no, I know that, I…I want to.” He said, doing his best to sound confident about it.

Well, it wasn’t perfect, but it was better.

Nathaniel smiled at him. “Great. Then I’ll start drawing up the pages while you go through and edit the script?”

To his surprise, and relief, Marc managed to return his smile with a tiny one of his own. “S-Sure thing.”

The two began to work in a cozy silence, and Nathaniel realized he hasn’t been this excited to draw in a long time. He’s always loved it, it was a passion after all, but this…

This felt like more.

Like it was no longer a hobby, and more of a…

Nathaniel couldn’t explain it. He wasn’t great with words, not like Marc.

But he wondered if having a friend was always meant to feel this easy. This comfortable.

This safe.

A week or so flew by, and they were making incredible progress. Nathaniel felt a bit guilty that his part seemed to take longer, but Marc always was quick to insist Nathaniel take his time.

“You don’t get such breathtaking expressions and movements from rushing it!”

While Nathaniel was working on drawing the pages, Marc was editing the script here and there, and trying to work out a timeline for future issues. He even had a whiteboard covered in sticky notes that he kept in the art room that laid it all out for him. Nathaniel couldn’t really follow it, but he liked seeing Marc get all passionate about it.

Still, despite their partnership going well, Nathaniel couldn’t help noticing that he never saw Marc outside of the art room. He knew Marc was a year below him, but it still didn’t make sense that he never saw him during free period or lunch. He’d wanted to ask, but it felt kind of awkward to bring up out of the blue.

But then again, he’d never know if he didn’t ask. And he knew Marc would fit in with their little friend group perfectly. He already knew them all from the art room anyways.

So, when Marc arrived at the art room for another comic book making session, Nathaniel decided this would be a good time to ask. He wanted to wait for them to be alone so Marc wasn’t overwhelmed.

“L-Lunch?” Marc stammered, looking at Nathaniel with paralyzed eyes when he brought it up. “I-In the lunch room? With all those people? U-Um…I-I don’t think so…”

It wasn’t like Marc to flat out say no to things, usually he gave a neutral answer to avoid any kind of confrontation. Meaning, for him to say no like this…he must really hate the idea.

Nathaniel’s shoulders slumped. “If you aren’t comfortable with it, I understand. I just thought it’d be fun. I mean, you’ve already met Juleka, Alix and Rose. Sometimes Kim and Max sit with us too, but still. Nobody would pick on you if that’s what you’re worried about.”

But Marc still didn’t look happy, he just shrunk in on himself and fiddled with his notebook in his hands.

Nathaniel bit his lip. “Like I said, I’m not…trying to push you. If you don’t want to, it’s okay. Where do you eat lunch anyways? I never even see you grab your lunch in there.”

“Oh, I uh, I don’t really eat lunch…”

If Nathaniel had been drinking water, he would’ve spat it out. His head whipped over to look at Marc in utter disbelief. Well, that explains why he’s so skinny. “What do you mean you don’t eat lunch!?”

Marc cowered when Nathaniel raised his tone, starting to tremble in his seat. “I-I don’t know- I just meant- I never- I don’t know what I’m saying, you’re right, I’m being dumb, I’ll eat more from now on, I’m sorry, don’t be mad!”

Whoa. Okay, not the reaction Nathaniel wanted. Whatsoever.

He really needed to work on his temper if he was gonna be friends with this guy.

Taking a deep breath, Nathaniel explained himself softly. “I’m not mad, I was just surprised, and…you know, worried. It’s not healthy to skip meals.”

“…I know…” Marc mumbled, keeping his head down. “I just… I get anxious a lot and it makes me sick to my stomach so I never really feel hungry. Plus, the idea of going into the lunch room and getting my food in front of all those people…” He shuddered. “I just find it easier to not eat lunch at all.”

Nathaniel’s heart ached in sympathy. He didn’t have anxiety like Marc, but he’d been bullied enough to understand the fear of being in a room full of people. Watching you. Just waiting for the chance to make fun of you.

Without giving himself time to overthink it, Nathaniel reached out and took one of Marc’s hands, making the shy boy timidly meet his gaze.

“You don’t have to decide anything right now,” Nathaniel promised. “But…please think about it. Coming to lunch. If you do, I won’t let anyone make fun of you, or look at you, I swear. Everybody deserves to eat in a public space without feeling judged or criticized.”

Marc was speechless, mouth slightly open in surprise as Nathaniel spoke so passionately.

Nathaniel smiled slightly. “And hey, if you’d like…we could eat together. Just the two of us. Here in the art room, or wherever makes you comfortable. I’ll get your lunch for you so you don’t have to brave the cafeteria.”

“T-They wouldn’t let you take two lunches…” Marc protested weakly, still stunned.

“Then we’ll get stuff from the vending machine, or share my lunch, I don’t care.” Nathaniel’s gaze grew firm. “You’re my friend, and you’re going to eat.”

Marc’s cheeks flushed, his eyes locked on Nathaniel’s. He stammered, trying to figure out something to say but couldn’t find the words.

A little ironic, Nathaniel thought. And annoyingly cute.

Marc’s brain finally caught up, and he could only give a flustered nod, pulling his hand out of Nathaniel’s and looking down. After a few moments, he managed to squeak out a reply. “I’ll…I’ll try.”

Nathaniel’s eyes widened, he gasped, unable to help his excitement. “You mean it? You’ll go?”

“…I-I can’t promise I’ll stay, but…I’ll at least try to get my lunch…” Marc mumbled nervously.

Nathaniel grinned widely. “That’s awesome! Don’t worry, I’ll be by your side the whole time, I swear. Now come on, we’ve still got time left before then.” He turned his gaze back to his sketchbook.

“Hey uh…Nath?”

The nickname was new. Nathaniel’s heart fluttered. “Yeah?”

Marc rubbed the back of his neck, and managed a nervous smile. “…Thanks…for caring and stuff.”

So cute.

Nathaniel smiled back. “Of course I care, we’re friends, aren’t we?” He nudged him lightly.

Marc’s smile got a little bigger, cheeks tinting. “…Yeah. We are.”

Despite what he said, Nathaniel really expected Marc to back out. He figured the moment the bell rang, Marc would babble out some excuse and go hide. But he didn’t.

Instead, he timidly trailed behind Nathaniel as they walked to the lunch room.

Every time someone walked too close, or acknowledged them, Marc would flinch and try to hide further behind the redhead, which was difficult given that Marc was a little taller than him.

When they reached the door, Nathaniel turned and saw Marc looking pale. His breathing had quickened and he stepped back.

Nathaniel’s heart clenched as he stepped closer. “Hey, hey, you’re okay, it’s okay.” He assured him quietly.

“I-I don’t think I can do this…” Marc choked out between heavy breaths.

Nathaniel took his hands and squeezed them tightly. “Hey, look at me, look at me.” Marc’s eyes weakly flickered to his as he heaved. “You’re not in danger. It’s okay. You’re safe. Take some deep breaths. Follow my breathing.”

Marc swallowed thickly before trying to follow Nathaniel’s breaths. He choked a couple of times but managed to steady himself. He took a long, deep breath when he started to calm down.

“See?” Nathaniel smiled gently. “I’m here. I won’t let anything happen to you, alright?”

Marc eyed him timidly, then the cafeteria door. He let out a weak nod, hands shaking. He didn’t let go of Nathaniel’s hand, if anything he just gripped it tighter.

Nathaniel pulled him along slowly and opened the door, stepping into the cafeteria. Marc hid behind him as if everyone in the cafeteria was about to turn and look at them in that moment.

But nobody was looking. Nobody paid them any attention. Marc’s shoulders relaxed a fraction, but he kept his firm grip on Nathaniel’s hand.

Nathaniel didn’t mind. He squeezed Marc’s hand comfortingly as he pulled him along through the cafeteria and towards the tray line.

The lunch lady tried to make small talk, but Nathaniel was quick to shut it down with a polite thank you before dragging Marc away. He didn’t want anything spooking the poor boy.

He felt Marc’s trembles worsen when they approached the table, but Nathaniel pretended not to notice. He sat down along with Marc, and quickly spoke up before anyone could say anything.

“Hey guys, I convinced Marc to join us, but he’s kinda nervous, so try not to pester him, okay?” He told the group simply, trying to keep it more lighthearted than it was.

Marc kept his eyes down on his tray, jittering in his seat.

Alix, Juleka and Rose exchanged a few looks, before smiling kindly in Marc’s direction.

“Hey there, Marc! There’s no need to be nervous.” Rose chirped. “But I get it. Juleka’s not good around people either!”

Marc’s head lifted at that, eyeing Juleka curiously. She got a bit timid under his gaze and offered a weak shrug. The shy gesture made Marc relax further.

Alix grinned. “So, you’re the brains of the comic, right? We’re all totally stoked to read it when it’s done.”

“Huh? B-Brains? Oh, no, I don’t really do much, it’s mostly Nath.” Marc insisted anxiously.

Nathaniel held back a sigh, and lightly nudged Marc. “Hey, partnership, remember? We’ve both done a lot. Anyways, try not to pay Alix much mind, she loves tormenting me.” He said the last part teasingly.

Alix grinned. “It’s not my fault you’re so easy to mess with.”

Before Nathaniel could retort, Rose spoke up against excitedly to Marc. “I love your nails!”

Marc flinched at the mention of his nails. “What? Oh, uh, thanks…” He mumbled.

“They’re so nicely done. Did you get them professionally painted or do it yourself?” Rose asked giddily. “When I paint nails, I get the polish everywhere!”

“I um…” Marc poked at his salad with his fork. “I do it…”

Even Juleka had to speak up at that, looking shocked. “Seriously?” She mumbled.

“…Is that weird?” He asked weakly.

Nathaniel shook his head firmly. “Not at all, it’s impressive is what it is.” He explained with a smile.

“You should come over to my house sometime for a hang out! You can paint our nails!” Rose told him eagerly.

Marc winced. “Oh…um…maybe.” The idea of going to a friend’s house, hanging out as a group, was pretty overwhelming.

Nathaniel bit his lip, seeing Marc was still struggling. He did his best to change the subject to something more comfortable. “Marc’s top of his class in literature and English.”

That earned a gasp from Rose, and a wide-eyed look from Marc who was now like a deer caught in headlights. “Really!? What kind of stuff do you right? Could we read some? I write songs, myself!”

Marc paled. “Oh, no, I don’t write anything good, my stuff is kind of worthless actually, I’m only doing the comic book because Nathaniel’s drawings will make up for it.” Nathaniel looked at him in disbelief.

Alix raised an eyebrow. “Wow…you really don’t think good of yourself, like at all, do you?”

“That’s…” Marc’s shoulders slumped.

“We’re working on it.” Nathaniel chimed in gently.

Rose smiled. “A good way to change your thinking about yourself is to practice. You’re good at writing, you have evidence of that because of your grades in school, so you need to start acting like it! Tell yourself you’re a good writer!”

Marc stared, eyes wide. Everyone was looking at him. “I um…I um…”

“I know it’s overwhelming…but it does help.” Juleka chimed in with a soft mumble. Marc looked at her. “I…also don’t think well of myself…but I’m working on it.”

Marc looked around at their smiling, encouraging faces for a moment, then glanced at Nathaniel, who gave him the kindest eyes of all.

With a timid, anxious smile, he mumbled. “I um…I guess I’m a good writer…maybe.”

After a pause to digest his words, Alix cackled. “Well, it’s a start.”

“Eeek! Good for you, Marc!” Rose cheered. Juleka just gave a nod of approval.

Marc spared a glance at Nathaniel again, who grinned at him and nudged his side. Marc’s cheeks got rosy and he smiled shyly at the rest of the table.

Maybe lunch wasn’t so bad after all.

“I’ve been meaning to ask,” Nathaniel started two weeks after the first time they had lunch together. Marc had started sitting at their table every day, which Nathaniel was over the moon about, but he had to admit that he kind of preferred these quiet moments in the art room where it’s just the two of them. “Why do you wear gloves all the time?”

Marc paused his writing, but didn’t look at him. He stared down at the half-filled page, deep in thought.

Nathaniel frowned, worried he’d overstepped. “You don’t have to tell-“

“I guess…they make me feel protected.”

Nathaniel tilted his head. “Protected?”

The shy boy nodded, smiling dimly down at his notebook. “Ah, a-at my last school, things were…rough. A lot of bullies and stuff. One time it got really out of hand and this guy and his buddies pinned me down and broke my fingers on my left hand. It was uh- it was pretty bad, and the reason I ended up transferring. Anyways, I guess the gloves just…help me feel like I have a shield or something, I know that’s really lame, but-“

Marc cut himself off when he looked over at Nathaniel, and saw the mouth agape, tearful gaze he was receiving.

Instantly, Marc hunched over on himself, realizing he shared way too much. “Oh, wow, I-I’m making you super uncomfortable, aren’t I? You- You didn’t ask to hear all of that. I’m sorry. It’s- It’s not a big deal, really, it happened like almost two years ago so-“

“Don’t say that.” Nathaniel choked out.

Marc looked at him in confusion. “…Say what?”

Nathaniel reached over and took Marc’s hand. He held it gently, as if it might break from too much pressure. “Don’t say it wasn’t a big deal,” He explained firmly, unable to help the tears ghosting his eyes. “You were bullied. Horribly. That- That’s awful.”

He would know. He’s never been bullied that bad before, but he’s been teased and mocked and had his stuff destroyed more times than he could count.

Part of Nathaniel had always been able to justify it. Tell himself his hobbies were weird or creepy and he deserved the treatment he got. He had a bad temper too; it was easy to make people not like him.

But Marc?

Marc was…gentle. Too gentle. Too kind. The kind of boy who Nathaniel would expect to crumble at one wrong look.

The idea of a boy like Marc getting so badly bullied that he’d paid a trip to a hospital, and had to switch schools after…

It made Nathaniel sick. It made him wish he was a real superhero.

If he was, he’d destroy anyone who even looked at Marc funny.

“You’re right, it was awful.” Marc conceded softly, and intertwined his fingers with Nathaniel’s. “But…I’m okay.”

“How can you say that?” Nathaniel stammered.

Marc smiled weakly. “I don’t know…I just…I’m at this school now, and it’s…it’s really nice. Sure, Chloe’s not a great person, but besides her, everyone at this school is friendly. And then there’s people like you…”

“Like me?” Nathaniel questioned.

Marc looked down at their hands. “Yeah. You…You try to make me feel included, you care what I have to say, you like my ideas…I’ve never had anybody care about my opinions on…well, anything. Except for my parents.” He chuckled sheepishly. “So…I don’t know. I can’t change what happened, but all I know is that I really like where I am now, and…part of the reason is you.”

Nathaniel’s heart did backflips. What was he supposed to say to that?

He’d only known Marc for a few weeks, but it felt like they’d been friends forever. How could he explain that he felt the same way? That ever since he and Marc started working together, things had felt different? He didn’t dread going to school every day now. He could put up with his parents’ judgement of him because he knew Marc would be waiting at school for him, ready to support any of his ideas, hopes or dreams.

Marc was the biggest supporter in his life, even more than Alix. What words could he possibly say to convey how much he cared about him?

How much he…

Coughing a little, Nathaniel stammered to say something. He swore he could feel the heat radiating off of his own cheeks. “Well…I’m glad…that I could be…someone for you.”

Marc, surprisingly, didn’t shy away from him or get flustered. If anything, his eyes crinkled slightly in amusement, like he could tell Nathaniel was more nervous than him. “…I hope I can be the same for you at some point.”

‘You already are.’ Nathaniel wanted to say, but his mouth refused to cooperate.

All he could do was softly squeeze Marc’s hand.

Marc squeezed back. Maybe for now, that was enough.

After a few more weeks of working together on their comic book, which was nearing its completion, Nathaniel realized something.

He never saw Marc outside of school. At all.

Never at the park, never in stores, never walking around town, and even worse, he never thought to invite him out.

Granted, Marc never invited him to do things either, but Nathaniel had a feeling that was more due to his anxiety than lack of interest.

It was awkward for Nathaniel too, to just ask Marc out of the blue to hang out with him without involving their comic, but to his relief, Marc had replied with a very enthusiastic yes, which just confirmed his suspicions further about the anxiety thing.

So now, here they were, at an art supply store, because Nathaniel really had no concept of what counted as an exciting hang out spot.

He wasn’t good at this. Not as bad as Marc, but he still wasn’t great at doing the friendship thing. Usually Rose or Alix picked the hang out spots and activities, while he and Juleka just followed along.

But this was just him and Marc, meaning it was all up to him to figure out something to do.

He thought the art supply store might be a good choice, given their comic book, but that connection alone just mad Nathaniel internally frustrated with himself. This was supposed to be a chance to bond outside of comics and he was already butchering it.

“-personally I think this brand works way better even though it’s the cheaper of the two. The color is way too faded on these and makes the drawings come out awkwardly. I can’t believe they’re almost double the price when their way worse quality.” Nathaniel rambled, getting a bit heated as he explained the different coloring pencils to Marc. He couldn’t help himself; this kind of thing just bugged him.

But Marc didn’t seem to mind. In fact, he was actually smiling, just sort of watching Nathaniel rant without offering any opinion or reaction.

Nathaniel frowned. “Hey, if this is boring for you-“

“What? No, no, not at all!” Marc insisted quickly, waving his hands around. He smiled sheepishly. “Sorry, I just…I liked listening to you get so fired up about it.”

“What? Really?” Nathaniel asked in disbelief. His hot-headedness was usually his worst quality to people. “It doesn’t bother you? I mean, I know they’re just pencils-“

“If it matters to you, then it’s not just anything.” Marc scolded him softly, a little pout on his face. “Seriously, Nath, I’m having fun.”

Nathaniel wasn’t going to make it.

This boy, this incredibly kind (cough, and overwhelmingly cute, cough) boy actually wanted to listen to his rambles about art products. He liked seeing Nathaniel care so much about something so miniscule.

Even his friends weren’t able to do that. They’d usually try and tell him to calm down or offer reasons why it wasn’t worth getting upset about.

But sometimes Nathaniel just…liked getting heated about things. He liked caring so much about the little stuff. It’s everyone else who made him feel so bad about that behavior. And it’s not like Nathaniel was perfect, he knew he had a tendency to jump the gun, expect the worst; he was working on it.

But hearing that somebody understood. Somebody didn’t mind. Somebody wanted to hear him complain about the little things more.

It was too much.

“Uh…Nath? Are you okay?” Marc spoke hesitantly, concerned. He swore Nathaniel’s eyes were getting misty.

Nathaniel scrambled to wipe his eyes. “Y-Yeah, sorry, just- probably dust or something.”

Marc didn’t look convinced. He just stared at Nathaniel with this soft expression that was not helping Nathaniel’s waterworks.

He let out a warbly laugh. “Seriously, I’m okay, I promise. I just…feel a lot.”

“Oh…” Marc paused for a moment. “…Well, are they good feelings?”

Nathaniel could barely look him in the eye. He wiped his face with his sleeve for a moment, before giving Marc a wide grin.

“Yeah. Very good feelings.”

Their first comic was finally done at the two-month mark. Two months of pouring their hearts and souls into pages. But it was so beautiful when it was done. It looked like a real comic book, something you’d see in stores.

When they got to see it for the first time, completed and ready to be shared with the world, they may have cried. A lot. But that was their own little secret.

They’d presented the comic to those in the art room, teased Marinette for being a klutz, which she took well thankfully, and watched everyone reading their own copies of the comic in various parts in the room.

Every time they saw a smile, or heard a little gasp or noise of surprise at something they read, the boys felt their hearts jump and swell with pride.

“We did that.” Marc whispered as he saw Rose and Juleka whispering eagerly to each other while reading.

Nathaniel let out a breathy chuckle. “…Yeah, we did.”

They didn’t even have to ask each other if they wanted to keep working together. The story naturally had too many plot points and lore to all be fit into one issue. It wasn’t a question that they were going to make another, and another, and another.

Throughout the day, their comic got spread outside of the art room as well, mainly to Nathaniel’s class, and maybe a few other students here and there. It was kind of crazy watching the news spread like wildfire.

But the important thing was that everyone seemed to enjoy it.

Well, almost everyone.

“Ridiculous! Utterly ridiculous!” Chloe shouted obnoxiously during lunch, standing up from her seat and waving the comic around furiously. “Queen Wasp as a villain and nothing more? What kind of rubbish is this? Not to mention the add-in of Reverser. Why waste time on such a useless villain when you could’ve had a whole redemption arc for Queen Wasp, huh? And let’s not forget the weird romance plot between Mighty-Illustrator and Ladybug. Well, I guess it’s good Nathaniel found a fellow freak to create garbage with,” She mocked. “After so many years of being a total creeper on his own.”

Nathaniel felt a boiling rush of fury in his gut. How dare she. How dare she talk about a redemption arc when she’s never once tried to change.

He’d had half a mind to say as such out loud, but somebody beat him to it.

And that someone was Marc.

“We only give redemption arcs to people who we think can actually change!” Marc shouted at her with an irritation in his eyes that Nathaniel had never seen before.

Heads whipped around, looking at Marc like he was an alien. Nobody had ever heard him raise his voice before, much less snap at somebody.

Even Chloe seemed thrown for a moment, before sputtering. “What did you say!?”

“You heard me!” Marc refused to back down. “Nathaniel and I poured our hearts into this, and I won’t stand here and listen to you trash on it just because you think it’s unfair that we painted Queen Wasp in a bad light. If we wrote and drew her that way, it’s because that’s how we perceive her. That opinion didn’t come from nowhere, Chloe!”

Nathaniel’s jaw was on the floor. Was Marc akumatized again and he just didn’t notice? Was he replaced with a clone? Who was this kid? What happened to the timid boy who could barely say hello?

Marc panted heavily, worked up from his shouting. Chlo was speechless, only able to stare dumbly as Marc continued. “If Queen Wasp ever can prove herself trustworthy and a good person, we’ll consider a redemption arc. But until then…we’ll continue to write things how we see them. And if you ever have any real criticism, not just petty and cruel words, we’ll be open to it.”

Everyone was staring and whispering, some even snickering at Chloe’s expression.

She finally let out what could only be described as a scream of frustration, before storming out of the classroom with Sabrina in tow.

As the others began to talk amongst themselves, Nathaniel pulled Marc aside and whispered to him with a huge grin. “Okay, who are you and what did you do with Marc?”

Marc let out a weary sigh, smiling weakly. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to lose my temper like that…I just couldn’t stand to listen to her mock our hard work. This is our story, and it needs to be protected. It’d be one of thing if it was general criticism, but it was obviously a personal attack.”

“I…didn’t know you had that in you.” Nathaniel admitted sheepishly.

“…I’m not good at standing up for myself.” Marc explained softly. “But I don’t like watching somebody tear into someone I care about, you know?” Then he flushed and stammered to correct himself. “Something! As in our comic. That- That’s what I meant.”

Nathaniel’s heart soared, threatening to burst out of his chest just so it’d have room to fly even higher. He could only look at Marc with a wobbling smile, threatening to turn into something embarrassingly tender.

Marc caught his eyes and flushed darker, looking away. “Well…I guess I should go show the comic to my class now…”

“R-Right, yeah, do that. I look forward to hearing what they think.” Nathaniel insisted shakily.

(They loved it.)

“He’s too perfect, Alix…” Nathaniel groaned into a pillow, laying on Alix’s bed with his face buried dramatically as he told her his woes.

His woes that were, in Alix’s opinion, stupid.

“So?” She deadpanned from her desk chair, trying to do homework and failing miserably. “Ask him out then if you adore him so much.”

Nathaniel’s head shot up, sputtering protests. “I can’t do that! What if he doesn’t feel the same way!? Alix, Marc is like the best friend I’ve ever had-“

Alix spun around in her chair to glare at him.

He smiled sheepishly. “Er, best male friend I’ve ever had…”

She rolled her eyes and got up from her chair, coming over to the bed and collapsing beside him. “Nate, this isn’t rocket science. Marc’s been crazy about you from day one.”

His eyes widened. “That’s not true.”

She gave him a judgmental glare. “Are you new? Nate, when he came into the art room the first time, he could barely even look at you.”

“He was just shy.” Nathaniel protested, cheeks flushing.

“Oh please, I didn’t see him blushing around the rest of us like that.” Alix smirked. “Dude, Marc is obsessed with you, at least a crush. And if you’re into him too…it doesn’t hurt to ask.”

Nathaniel wondered about that. If it turned out she was wrong and Marc didn’t like him that way, it would make things super awkward. What if Marc felt too awkward to ever speak to him again? What if it killed their partnership? What if-

Alix punched his arm. “Stop getting in your own head, you’re overthinking it. Nobody is saying you gotta confess tomorrow. Just ask him about how he feels about you. Get a beat for where he’s at. And if he doesn’t like you, then you just won’t bring up your own feelings.”

She had a point, he knew that. But still. It felt so…scary. Nathaniel knew he liked boys from a young age, but it was easy to push down and focus on girls instead. The only person who even knew he liked guys too was Alix, and that’s only because she’d confessed to being aro-ace first.

If she hadn’t done that, Nathaniel probably would’ve taken his sexuality to the grave.

Alix gently nudged him this time. “Nath, at the very least, I don’t think Marc’s the kind of guy who would judge you for anything. Why don’t you start with the whole ‘liking boys’ thing and just… go from there?”

Go from there, huh?

Go where?

Where could he go, when he lived with parents who would hate him if they knew the truth?

‘Anywhere Marc is.’ His mind cruelly supplied. ‘Anywhere he is, is where I want to be.’

Dammit.

No matter how many deep breaths Nathaniel took, he couldn’t stop shaking. He anxiously waited in the art room for Marc to show up. This was it. He’d show up, they’d talk, Nathaniel would tell him he was bi, and hopefully Marc would accept him and they’d continue working on the comic.

And if he didn’t. If Alix was wrong and Marc not only wasn’t queer but also thought it was weird that he was bi, then Nathaniel would simply…cease to exist, probably.

Or at least want to.

Maybe he could move to another country, start fresh.

Or maybe-

“Sorry I’m late!” Marc exclaimed as he came in the door.

Nathaniel took another rough breath. “It’s fine, are you ready to-“ He froze, seeing Marc’s hand in a wrist brace. “What the heck happened to you!?”

Marc smiled sheepishly. “Sorry… I got so inspired writing the script last night…I kind of over did it.” He took out a thick stack of papers from his bag. “It’s the script for the next issue…and the next…and also some notes, and timelines, it’s kinda a mess.”

“You’re hurt.” Nathaniel spoke firmly, scoldingly. “Come here, let me see.”

Marc shyly got closer, and sat down in his stool next to Nathaniel’s. He held out his arm.

Nathaniel gently removed the brace and saw Marc’s wrist was a little puffy. He huffed. “Why would you keep writing if it hurt?”

“I told you, I got so inspired, I had to get it all down…” Marc sulked. “Don’t be mad.”

“I’m not mad, just worried.” Nathaniel mumbled, before slowly beginning to massage Marc’s arm, up to his elbow.

Marc watched curiously, wincing a few times when Nathaniel pushed too hard.

“I’ve done the same thing with drawing. A lot of the hand and wrist pain comes from here…” Nathaniel mumbled, keeping focused on Marc’s arm as he ran his thumbs up and down it.

“…Thanks.” Marc whispered.

When a comfortable silence fell over them, Nathaniel decided to bite the bullet. “…I wanted to talk to you about something.”

“What is it?” Marc tilted his head.

Nathaniel kept his eyes on Marc’s arm. “I just…I kind of…” He swallowed hard. “I think I’m- no, not think, that- that’s not right. I know that I’m…” His hands shook.

Marc grew concerned. “Nath, it’s okay. You can tell me anything.” He promised softly.

Nathaniel finally lifted his head and met Marc’s eyes, trying not to cry. “I…I’m bi.”

A stunned silence fell over. Marc’s eyebrows had shot up in surprise, before his eyes softened into something tender, if not grateful.

“Thank you for telling me.” He whispered.

Nathaniel felt his shoulders relax. “You…You don’t mind?”

“Of course not, Nath. I don’t exactly…give straight vibes, do I?” Marc noted sheepishly.

“I-I felt guilty assuming…” Nathaniel mumbled.

“Well, that’s considerate of you, but I’m not straight. At all. I’m…I’m gay.” He explained shyly.

Suddenly, Alix’s theory felt possible. And Nathaniel could help his spark of excitement at the possibility.

So much so that he ended up blurting out his next question like an idiot. “Did you have a crush on me when we first met?”

Marc nearly fell out of his chair. “W-What!?” His eyes went wide and his cheeks flushed.

Nathaniel wanted to smack himself, why did he say it like that!? “I-I just meant…ugh, look, Alix said something about you crushing on me when we met and I…I was just curious.”

He was certain he’d been completely in the wrong, but Marc was looking down shamefully, cheeks still pink. He looked guilty.

Nathaniel slowed his massaging movements on Marc’s arm to a stop, a little stunned. “It’s…true?”

“I’m sorry!” Marc blurted out anxiously. “I-I never meant for you to find out! I didn’t want to make you uncomfortable. Oh, this is so embarrassing. I’m so sorry, Nath, I’ll never talk to you again if that’s what you want, I’m sorry-“ He rambled.

Nathaniel’s eyes widened. “Whoa, whoa, hey,” He took Marc’s hand and rubbed it with his thumb. Marc met his eyes nervously. “I’m not mad, Marc.” He let out a slight chuckle. “I’m…honored, honestly. And surprised.”

“…It started when I saw your art on the school website…” Marc whispered, looking down. “I was so blown away; I started checking constantly for new posts. I’d never seen drawings that just…conveyed so much. And the fact that it was done by somebody at school…and then I found out you were the artist. I’d see you drawing during free periods and…” He flushed heavily. “Jeez, this is- this is really embarrassing to talk about, can we never talk about this again?”

The request made Nathaniel’s heart clench, but he nodded. “Of course. I’m sorry. Like I said, I don’t mind. I’m…really flattered.”

Marc smiled shyly at that, and Nathaniel returned it.

Still, as happy as he was to hear it was true, Nathaniel couldn’t help the ache in his chest.

Marc had liked him. And he probably butchered it the moment he’d ripped up his notebook.

Maybe they were friends now. Best friends. But to be more…

He might never get that chance, all because of his overreaction.

Part of Nathaniel wanted to ask. Wanted to know the moment Marc’s crush went away. But he couldn’t.

Nathaniel was only human. He wasn’t designed for pain that extreme.

A few weeks later, the fiasco with Penalteam went down. It had been an intense experience, but they’d gotten through it. It was fun to be a superhero if only for a little while. Nathaniel kind of missed Ziggy already, even though he only got to talk to the little Kwami briefly. Hopefully Ladybug would give him the chance to be a superhero again some other time.

At least Marc was safe, that’s all that really mattered. And he got to share his love of soccer with him.

“I owe you an apology.” Nathaniel spoke up as he and Marc walked home. They were both caked in dirt from playing so hard.

Marc glanced at him in confusion. “What for?”

“You tried to share something important to you with me and I completely shut you down.” Nathaniel explained guiltily. “And I made you lie for me. That wasn’t cool.”

Marc smiled faintly. “Hey it’s okay, I get it, sports aren’t your thing. We aren’t going to have everything in common. I’ll just play soccer with the others.”

“Maybe I can just watch from the sidelines.” Nathaniel suggested kindly. “Or draw some sketches of you guys.”

“I bet that’d be fun. But wouldn’t it be hard to draw subjects that were moving around so much?” Marc asked curiously.

Nathaniel shrugged. “Maybe, but you guys go to timeouts and stuff a lot, so maybe not. We’ll have to see.” He paused for a moment, and spoke softly. “…I’m really glad you’re okay. When I heard about the Akuma attack, I was really worried.”

“How did you even hear about it?” Marc had to ask in confusion. “I thought you went home.”

Nathaniel started to sweat. “Oh uh, I kept close…I guess…I felt guilty, I wanted to have the chance to talk to you after the class was over.”

“You could’ve texted me.” Marc reasoned kindly. “But…I appreciate it.”

Nathaniel smiled weakly. It was a tiny lie, but it was for the best. He couldn’t exactly say Ladybug called on him, after all.

“Still, thanks for playing with us.” Marc added softly. “It…It meant a lot to me.”

Hesitantly, Nathaniel moved to walk even closer beside Marc, letting his hand brush his. “…Sure. I was happy to do it.”

Marc’s hand brushed his for a few moments, before he finally just took his hand in his, intertwining their fingers. “I was thinking, by the way, I had an idea for another comic. This one would be completely original, not fanfiction-esc like our Ladybug comic.”

Nathaniel looked at him intrigued, thankful for the distraction so he didn’t have to stew over them holding hands. “What? Really?”

“What do you think about superheroes…Sun-Heart and Rain-Piercer?” Marc started eagerly, ready to explain all of the lore he’d already made up for them.

“I can’t believe it! I can’t believe it!” Nathaniel couldn’t hold in his excitement.

After many messy drafts and nights of planning and creating, their first issue of Sun-Heart and Rain-Piercer was finished. Their editor loved it, and after a few clean-up tweaks, it would be published.

So, naturally, they had to celebrate. They were in Marc’s room, enjoying some cake slices they’d bought from the bakery.

Well, actually they were gifted, because Marinette insisted, but the point is, they had cake.

“We’re professional now.” Marc giggled. “This is way bigger than our Ladybug fanfiction. This is…ours. Just ours.”

“And we’re able to publish it! This is like the first step in our career!” Nathaniel added excitedly. “If we keep working on this…who knows how much it could grow!”

Marc grinned at him. “I’m glad you’re so hyped about this. But you know it’ll probably take a while to really grow a following around it.”

“All the more reason to start as soon as possible.” Nathaniel told him determinedly. “I already set up some social media accounts for us. I thought it’d be good to branch out from the school website if we really want to make this a thing.”

“Nice!” Marc beamed. He held up his fork with a bit of cake and grinned. “To comics.”

Nathaniel chuckled and clinked his own fork to Marc’s. “To comics.”

They ate the cake in a comfortable silence for a few moments, before Marc spoke up softly. “I can’t believe six months ago we were strangers, and now we’re doing this.”

“A lot can happen, huh?” Nathaniel hummed.

“I could barely look at you when we met, much less talk to you.” Marc giggled.

Nathaniel grinned and nudged his side. “You were too busy getting lost in my charming looks.”

Marc laughed but didn’t deny it. “I never thought…I’d get the chance to make something like this with someone. I thought for sure that my stories would just…hide away in my notebook.”

“But now they’re out there for the world.” Nathaniel whispered, and set his slice of cake down so he could focus his attention on Marc properly. “…Thank you.”

Marc’s eyes widened, getting shy. He slowly set his plate down. “I didn’t really do much…”

Nathaniel took his hands and looked him in the eyes. “You did everything, Marc.”

That caused a familiar blush to cross Marc’s cheeks. The room suddenly felt hot, and his palms were sweaty under his gloves.

Nathaniel squeezed his hands softly, and found himself inching closer. Marc didn’t move back, which gave him the courage to lean in.

Marc’s breath hitched, and his eyes started to flutter shut as their breaths mingled.

But that’s when Nathaniel’s phone blared to life with a loud text notification, startling them so bad that they nearly fell off the bed.

“Sorry! Sorry!” Nathaniel scrambled to grab his phone, cheeks blazing. Marc couldn’t say anything, just stare with wide eyes and a flushed face.

Nathaniel looked at his phone and couldn’t help his scowl. “It’s my mom…I’m late for dinner.” He looked at Marc guiltily. “I’m sorry, I have to go, she’s already mad.”

Marc’s shoulders drooped. “…Right, of course.”

He tried not to look at Marc’s disappointed face, packing up his things in his bag as he got off the bed. “I’ll…see you tomorrow.”

“Wait!” Marc quickly got off the bed and came over to him. “I ah, I had something for you.” He explained shakily, digging around in his pocket for a moment before holding something out to him.

Nathaniel looked down and his eyes widened.

A bisexual pin.

Marc shifted nervously. “I just…you mentioned you didn’t have anything…and I thought…” He bit his lip. “You don’t need to accept it, it’s no big-“

Nathaniel took it delicately in his hand, eyes getting misty. “…Thank you, Marc.” He whispered.

Seeing he wasn’t upset, Marc relaxed a fraction. He gave him a weak smile. “I know you can’t…wear it at home or anything, but…at least you’ll know it’s there. Proof of who you are.”

Nathaniel gave him a slightly teary-eyed smile, before hugging him. Marc returned it eagerly, burying his face in his shoulder.

It took longer than it should’ve for the two to let go.

“I was thinking about changing my look.”

Nathaniel paused his sketching to look at Marc in pure confusion. “Huh?”

“Well, I’ve been wearing the same kinds of clothes for ages now, and I’ve kinda been wanting to wear makeup more too.” Marc explained shyly, fiddling with his notebook. “I dunno, I just…feel like it’s time for a change.”

Nathaniel had to look down at his own clothes when Marc said that. Same boring grey blazer, with bright purple jeans and orange shirt. “…I get what you mean.”

“But I don’t know anything about fashion.” Marc whined. “I barely get makeup. It’s annoyingly hard to learn how to use makeup well as a guy.”

Nathaniel hummed, looking Marc over. Sure, he loved how Marc looked in general, but if Marc wanted to experiment, he’d like to help.

“What about something…” Nathaniel sketched up something quickly and showed Marc. “Like this?”

He’d drawn an eye, with a makeup design to boot. A kind of lightning bolt.

Marc beamed. “Whoa! That looks so cool!”

“You think?” Nathaniel chuckled. “Maybe try it out with actual makeup and see how it goes. It’ll be up to you to pick the colors.”

“You come up with these things so easily.” Marc smiled. “Any chance you have ideas for clothes too?”

Nathaniel snorted. “Only hero costumes. Yeah no, if we want a change in our fashion…we need someone with actual taste.”

Just then, they heard the loud clang of a bunch of paint cans being knocked over, along with a few whiteboards and easels, and turned their heads to see Marinette groaning by the entrance of the art room, laying on the ground from where she’d obviously tripped over stuff.

Nathaniel and Marc slowly exchanged a look, and grinned widely.

Two months later, Nathaniel’s mother was akumatized.

As horrifying as the whole experience had been, and as angry as Nathaniel was at his mother for her treatment of him and their comic, he was also kind of happy.

Because, thanks to his own efforts, and some encouragement from Ladybug, his mother was finally willing to try.

She wasn’t ever going to like comics. But she could finally see how much it mattered to him. How much of his heart had gone into it. And maybe that was enough.

After dinner that evening, he and Marc went up to his room for privacy.

Honestly, Ladybug should’ve known better. She should’ve known Nathaniel was too impulsive. Too passionate.

Of course he was going to reveal his hero identity the moment Marc tried to tell him he wasn’t allowed to protect him.

Marc’s reaction was more than anything Nathaniel could’ve hoped for. He could hardly believe it when Rooster Bold appeared in front of him.

Nathaniel couldn’t even speak, he just burst out into a disbelieving, relieved laugh before tackling Marc down on the bed in a tight hug. Marc was laughing too, and clinging to him like a lifeline.

“I can’t believe-“ Marc sputtered between laughs. “all this time…”

“I know.” Nathaniel grinned stupidly as they laid side by side, staring at each other, still taking in their hero forms.

Marc looked so different as Rooster Bold. Everything from his hair to his eyes, to his whole demeaner. Nathaniel had seen Rooster Bold in action, the level of confidence he had in everything he did.

He was glad Marc had some sort of outlet to show off how great he was without fear.

“…Hey,” Marc whispered. “Can I ask you something?”

“Since when do you need permission first?” Nathaniel teased. “You can talk to me about anything, you know that.”

Marc smiled faintly, before continuing. “…Was it our comic that inspired you to do this? I mean…reveal your identity?”

A fair question, and Nathaniel couldn’t deny the similarities.

He reached out and took Marc’s hands. He did that a lot, he’d noticed. He hoped to do it a lot more.

“Actually, it was more about being frustrated that you said I wasn’t allowed to risk my life for you.” Nathaniel told him sheepishly.

Marc had to chuckle, before replying easily. “You’re still not.” He smirked.

“I’m a superhero, it’s literally my job.”

“Well, I’m also a superhero, so I don’t need your protection.” Marc teased back, before his tone grew firm. “I need you alive.”

Nathaniel’s eyes softened. “…Right back at you.”

A soft silence followed, the two didn’t unjoin their hands. If anything, they seemed to lean closer, their bodies almost touching, but not quite.

“…You know, after dinner, my mom pulled me aside.” Nathaniel murmured. “She…gave me her blessing.”

“About the comic?” Marc asked curiously.

Nathaniel shook his head. “No, I mean, she hates comics, but she understands that it’s my path now.” He bit his lip. “…She was talking about me and you.”

Marc’s gorgeous, sunset-like eyes widened, mouth falling open.

He gripped Marc’s hands tighter. “I don’t want to hide anymore, Marc.” He whispered. “From anyone, or anything. Especially not from you.”

“Nath…” Marc breathed.

“I like you. I really like you.” Nathaniel confessed intimately. “And I know I probably screwed up any real chance of us by now and you probably moved on from your crush on me a long time ago- I mean, I ripped up your notebook, you had to deal with me being closeted for so long, with my mother’s obvious judgements…” He bit his lip. “But…I wanted you to know. I needed you to know how I feel.”

Marc was deathly silent, and Nathaniel started to suffocate. A million possibilities ran through his mind in a matter of seconds, desperate to decipher what Marc might be thinking or feeling, desperate to know if he still had a best friend or if he’d just ruined everything.

And then, Marc’s fingers intertwined with his, and he pulled himself closer until they were pressed together. His forehead hit Nathaniel’s, and their noses brushed.

“You don’t get to decide if you have a chance with me or not.” Marc whispered. “You don’t get to decide that I’m over you.”

Nathaniel gasped quietly, suddenly overwhelmed by Marc’s calm, yet powerful words. Was this the power of the pretension miraculous? Or had Nathaniel just fallen way too deep?

Marc’s lips met his, and Nathaniel brain completely cut out. His heart took over and it was exploding.

His hand reached up to grip Marc’s sleeve, and he felt his jacket instead of his hero costume. Their Kwamis’ must’ve decided it was time to leave them alone. He balled his hand into the denim as best he could.

Marc’s hand reached up to rest on his cheek, tilting Nathaniel’s hand just right to kiss him deeper.

All fear, confusion and wonder left them. The only thing remaining was pure, unfiltered love.

When they finally parted, Nathaniel opened his eyes to be met with Marc’s emerald green ones. Very different from Rooster Bold’s eyes, yet equally as beautiful.

He also noticed Marc’s cheeks were heating up, and getting darker and darker. He was staring at Nathaniel with a paralyzed, flustered expression that reminded him of when they first met.

He had to laugh. “Are you still with me?” He playfully tapped his cheek.

“Just…processing.” Marc squeaked, which made Nathaniel laugh harder. Marc’s face morphed into a furious pout. “Hey, come on, give me a break, it’s not everyday you get everything you’ve ever wanted.”

Nathaniel’s cheeks heated up, and he groaned and buried his face into the crook of Marc’s neck. “Can I expect more poetic lines like that from you?”

“I am the writer…” Marc murmured, shyly putting an arm around Nathaniel’s waist to cuddle him close. “It’s sort of my job.”

“Just try not to faint on me.” Nathaniel teased, turning his head to press a soft kiss to Marc’s cheek.

Marc’s arm tightened around him. “Maybe we should take this slow then.” He managed to squeak out, and hid his face in Nathaniel’s hair.

Nathaniel laughed again, and snuggled closer. He could smell Marc’s raspberry chapstick. And now he knew it tasted as good as it smelled.

“Sure, whatever you want.”