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"Oh! Hey! Marc, wasn't it?"
Said boy had been making his way through the streets of Paris and enjoying the relative calm when an unfamiliar girl approached him.
"Marinette's your cousin, right? I'm in her class, she's really nice to everyone! I mean, I guess you would be too, right?"
Now, Marc was no stranger to Marinette's benevolence and optimism. After all, she had been the one to get him to start coming out of his shell and interact with people outside of classes. Even so, something about a complete stranger immediately comparing him to his cousin sort of rubbed him the wrong way.
But, he supposed, there was no harm in getting to know one of Marinette's classmates.
"I guess I should be, yeah," he replied, making another mental note to be more like Marinette. "It's nice to meet you..."
"Lila." She smiled politely, but she didn't stick her hand out like most would've. This girl was a bit odd, he thought, but he supposed everyone was in a way.
Marc returned the smile, completely genuine. "Nice to meet you, Lila. I'll... see you around?" Crud. He mentally hit himself with his journal for being so awkward and turned around to keep walking.
Lila stopped him. "Where're you going?" Her tone was as polite as her face.
"I'm on my way to The Liberty. Nathaniel and some of his friends are there, and I... thought it'd be good for me to meet people." He'd really just wanted to spend more time with Nathaniel, but it was nice to get to know people.
"Is he not with you? Aren't you two, like, friends?"
"We are," Marc said, a bit defensively. He wasn't Nathaniel's best friend, though. Alix held that title. He frowned a little. Jealousy wasn’t like him. "He... probably walked with one of his other friends."
"Like Marinette?" He clutched his journal tighter at her words. Lila seemed to not notice, because she continued. "Doesn't he, you know, like her? Like, like like her? I heard that it even got him akumatised. And on his birthday, no less!"
Marc froze. He felt his brain, or maybe his heart, shatter. Out of politeness, he'd never asked Nathaniel what had gotten him akumatised. He knew that it was a sensitive topic for a lot of people.
"I... should really get going." Marc could hear and feel his voice breaking. He had barely managed to utter those words, but Lila still seemed oblivious to his turmoil. "The others'll be waiting." And without a goodbye or any sense of where he was going, he ran, pulling his hood up and keeping his head down.
Once Marc was out of sight, Lila smirked and walked in the opposite direction, proud of the disaster she knew she'd just caused.
Marc ended up in a small alleyway. He choked back his sobs as he sat on the ground with his journal pulled close to his chest. He couldn't stop the rush of negative thoughts and emotions in his head and his heart.
Marinette will always be better than me... Nathaniel deserves only the best people around him and I'm completely worthless... unworthy of anyone's attention... they probably won't even care that I'm not there... why can't I just be better... why can't I be more like Alix... or Marinette... why won't he love me... wait, no... no, don't think that... you can't... not about him... he's your friend... just your friend... but you're probably nothing to him... you shouldn't be so worked up about this, Marc... he'll never love you now... no, stop that…
He was trapped in his own mind. He didn't see the purple butterfly flutter into the pages of his journal, followed by a deep blue feather.
…
Nathaniel was listening to the wacky story Kim was telling on The Liberty, sketchbook in hand. Or rather, he was trying to listen, but his mind was elsewhere.
Alix, being, well, Alix, noticed almost immediately. "Hey, Nath," she started, ignoring Kim's little outburst at being interrupted, "you alright?"
Nathaniel noticeably shrunk in on himself. Even though he'd known most of these people for years, he still wasn't used to having all these eyes on him. It was a lot easier just having one pair of kind, bright green eyes on him…
Where'd that thought come from?
He must've let something show on his face, because he heard a whisper from Alix. "Damn, you've got it bad, man."
Nathaniel whipped around, face red as his hair. "I DO NOT!"
"What's wrong, Nath?" Marinette had stood up with a confused and slightly worried expression.
Nathaniel exhaled, willing his face to return to its normal colour as he sat back down. "Nothing, nothing. It's just... odd that Marc hasn't shown up." As the others voiced their agreement, he sent a glare at Alix from under his bangs. She simply grinned at him. That little…
He sent what he'd hoped was a reassuring expression to Marinette. She'd always been so understanding with him. They'd become good friends after he realised that he'd confused his admiration for her with infatuation. Sometimes, though, Nathaniel wished he could be more like her.
Maybe then he'd be worthy of Marc.
"Sorry. Continue, Kim." Kim grinned at him, said he didn't need to apologise, and continued his story.
He didn't get very far before an akuma victim showed up. One that was too familiar for Nathaniel's liking.
…
Reverser stood triumphantly above The Liberty on his glider. He had found the people he was looking for.
He pulled out two paper planes and prepared to throw them. “See how likable you’ll be after this! Reversion!”
Alix was hit by the first plane. The second one was about to hit Marinette when she ducked behind a chair, hurriedly taking off her earrings. There was no way she’d be able to transform with Reverser locked onto her. She frantically told Tikki to find a new temporary holder before hearing Reverser shout again. She jumped from behind the chair to tackle Alya away from the projectile. But she was unable to get up quickly and was hit by the next one.
Reverser smirked as a purple visor appeared on his face. "You said it yourself, Shadow Moth. A writer must never be short of ideas." No one noticed a tiny red blur flying into a nearby planter.
Reverser pulled out another plane and, to the surprise of the group standing below him, pointed it at himself. He spoke so that none of them were able to hear him. "And now, I'll reverse myself so that Nathaniel will love me. Reversion!"
But Reverser's body didn't absorb the projectile like Marinette's and Alix's just had. The plane simply turned grey, crumpled, and fell to the ground. The akuma victim looked confused for a moment before he tried again. And again. And then again. His expression went from confused to frustrated to angry. "What?!" His voice was even louder than it normally was. "I'm not supposed to be immune to these!"
Reverser shook his head. "Whatever. You leave me no choice!" He glared at the students below him. “I didn’t wanna have to do this, but I guess I have to. Reversion!"
The plane hit Nathaniel in the chest. But, just as before, it wasn't absorbed by his body. It did the same thing the last four did. Reverser stared at Nathaniel in shock, before his shock quickly turned into anger. "Impossible! Why isn't this working?!"
Nathaniel wasn't sure if the akuma victim was expecting an answer, but he shrugged slowly. Reverser shouted in agony. "If I can't be happy, then NO ONE CAN!" He took out several more paper planes and reversed Kim, Max, Ivan, Mylène, Juleka, Rose, Alya, Nino, Luka, Zoé… almost everyone that was there. And with that, he flew off, leaving Nathaniel with a group of teenagers that were all shouting at each other and throwing out hurtful insults.
Nathaniel backed up slowly. This is my fault. They all got reversed because of me. Marc got akumatised because of me. What was he trying to do to me? To himself? He’ll be okay, right? Ladybug and Chat Noir will show up and everything will be alright… it has to be… He was thrown out of his inner rambling when he bumped into the boat’s door. He whipped around and went inside, with Tikki following close behind.
He sat on the ground behind the counter and sighed. Marc probably hates me… this is the worst. He flinched and hit his head on the countertop when Tikki appeared in front of him holding earrings. The kwami laughed sheepishly. “Sorry.”
Nathaniel rubbed the back of his head and narrowed his eyes, though not impolitely. “You’re another kwami, aren’t you… wait, are you Ladybug’s? Where is she? Is she okay? What’s gonna happen to Marc?!”
Tikki seemed relatively calm, what with his frantic questioning. “Yes, I am Ladybug’s kwami. She’s… out of commission at the moment, but she’s fine! And with your help, Marc will be as well!” She had a pleasant smile on her face, but it didn’t do much to comfort Nathaniel.
He was impressed that she managed to answer all of his questions. She must be used to dealing with frantic people… wait…
“My help?! What do you mean my help?!”
“You remember Scarabella?” Nathaniel nodded slowly. He had seen plenty of news footage of her, despite being trapped with Hack-san.
(Marc had trapped him in there, Nathaniel remembered. He and their comic book were apparently the most important things to him. But that last specific detail had been left out of Nathaniel’s brain.)
Tikki continued. “You’d be like her! Please? I could really use your help.”
Nathaniel narrowed his eyes again. “But why me? I really don’t think I’m the right person for this. And speaking of Scarabella, why not her? Did she get reversed too? She did, didn’t she…”
Tikki smiled at him. “You’re an artist, Nathaniel! The ladybug is perfect for artists. You’ve used Ziggy before, haven’t you? She speaks very highly of you. Our powers are pretty similar. Trust yourself!” Nathaniel sighed. He did tend to have self esteem issues, but right then, everyone’s safety was on the line. Marc’s safety was on the line.
“Besides, don’t you wanna do whatever you can to help your boyfriend?”
Now, Nathaniel had already been convinced to help, but hearing a miniature god say… that… so casually made him turn red. He opened and closed his mouth several times before managing to get out two weak words. “E-excuse me?”
Tikki chose that moment to notice Nathaniel’s little predicament. When she realised her apparent mistake, she just blinked at him. “Huh. I guess the guardian was right…”
“Huh?”
“Oh, nothing,” Tikki responded. She then started to mumble about “confusing and complicated humans” and float in circles.
Nathaniel shook his head as his face returned to its normal colour. Well, almost its normal colour. Despite his embarrassment, he put on a determined expression. “I’ll do it. Just tell me what to do, and I’ll fix everything.”
…
Adrien leapt across rooftops, searching for the akuma victim that was sure to be the source of all the anger beneath him. Couples were screaming at each other, and while Plagg (predictably) hadn’t cared, Adrien thought it was rather unfortunate. What could’ve possibly caused all of these happy people to turn on each other?
Well, he reasoned, better than being stuck inside all day.
His father may have denied him permission to go to The Liberty with his friends, but at least he’d be able to see Ladybug. He always felt so much freer as Chat Noir…
“Boo.” A slightly unfamiliar, monotone voice spoke behind him. Adrien whipped around to see… wait…
“You’re not Ladybug,” Adrien started, “or Scarabella… who are you? Is Ladybug alright? Is Scarabella?”
“Don’t worry. They’re both safe, they’ve just been… compromised. Anyway, I’m taking the reins for a bit, it’s great to meet you. My name is… Adalian, and we’ve got an akuma to purify.”
Adrien cocked his head. “Compromised? How so?”
“Reverser.”
That made sense. Adrien nodded slowly, and Adalian continued. “Come on, the sooner we find him the sooner we save him.”
…
It didn’t take Nathaniel long to get used the enhanced mobility that came with using a miraculous. It wasn’t exactly his first rodeo.
He wasn’t entirely sure where all this extra confidence of his was coming from, but he concluded that it was just part of the miraculous’s powers. Even with all of that confidence, he froze completely when following the angry pedestrians led to a gargantuan sentibeing that was flying through the streets and rapidly firing paper planes at any passersby. Reverser was standing on top of it.
It seemed as though his partner wasn’t prepared for it either. But while Chat Noir was relatively calm, Nathaniel was starting to panic. “Great. Now he’s twice as dangerous. And what happens if and when we get reversed?”
The blonde turned away from the screaming crowd below them and smiled at Nathaniel. “We’ll be okay, Adalian. He was bested the last time.”
Nathaniel looked at the other boy with a desperate expression. When Reverser fought Chat Noir last, neither of them was thinking clearly, the former being blinded by rage and the latter by artificial fear. But Nathaniel himself was thinking about exactly what Reverser could have done. Of all the akuma victims that Paris had ever seen, Reverser was one of the ones that terrified him the most.
And it wasn’t just because of the fact that Reverser just so happened to be one of the most important people in his life.
“I’ll tell you what’ll happen, Chat. He uses his powers to turn us evil. We give up the miraculouses. Shadow Moth wins.”
…
Adrien knew that he wasn’t the most socially intelligent person in the world. Practically everyone knew that. But even he could see that Adalian was stressed. Well, Adrien was too, but Adalian was stressed about something beyond the prospect of Shadow Moth’s victory. Even so, Adrien was as confident in his abilities as always. He just wished he could do something for Adalian.
Adrien knew how stressed Ladybug could get when dealing with akuma victims. He always thought that things could be easier for the both of them if they knew each other’s identities. Now, he thought that more than ever. If he knew who Adalian was behind the mask, surely he’d be able to make him feel better.
And if the two of them were only going to work together once, then he wanted everything to go as smoothly as possible.
But, he reasoned, Ladybug didn’t put so much emphasis on no one knowing who they were for no reason. As much as it pained him, he was willing to keep everything a secret. He was still going to do whatever he could to support Adalian. That was his job, after all.
Oh, right. It was also his job to stop Shadow Moth from winning. He wasn’t sure why his brain didn’t jump on that immediately.
Just as he sorted his thoughts out and started to think of a potential plan, Adalian spoke up. He seemed to be slightly calmer. “The best thing we can do is destroy his plane, like last time. Hopefully the Lucky Charm won’t be as complex… you with me?”
Adrien nodded. He had faith in Ladybug’s kwami. He had faith in Adalian.
He also had no idea how he knew so much about Reverser’s previous defeat, but that was beside the point.
…
“INVERSION!”
Reverser laughed as Inverter ran rampant around Paris. The sentibeing fired a grey beam that would invert the personalities and emotions of others. Similar to his own power, but without the ability to specify what would change. He wasn’t completely satisfied, as he hadn’t been able to reverse himself or Nathaniel, but destroying others’ love would do for now.
All he had to do was wait for Ladybug and Chat Noir to show up and take their miraculouses. He smiled to himself. It wouldn’t be long now.
Just then, someone appeared ten feet in front of him, joining him on top of Inverter. Someone wearing red. But this person was decidedly not Ladybug.
Reverser stood up and warily got onto his plane, but he didn’t take off. Despite Shadow Moth’s yelling, he wanted to know what this person had to say. He wasn’t sure exactly why, but he felt… something through this person. So, he decided to wait.
And then, the person started to speak.
“Hello, Reverser. I am Adalian.” He paused. “I… look, whatever it is you’re trying to do, it’s probably not worth it. You’re causing civilians pain. I don’t think you really know what you’re doing. Please, Ma… Reverser.”
Reverser was in shock. He had stopped listening after the first half of it, because this… Adalian person had just implied that Nathaniel wasn’t worth it.
In that moment, that fact was the only thing that Reverser could see. He supposed he had been wrong about him.
In one swift movement, he took out a paper plane and hurled it at the hero.
…
Nathaniel had known what the best option was. He’d said it himself. But the irrational, emotional part of his brain still wanted to be impulsive. That part of his brain thought that he’d be able to talk Reverser out of whatever he was trying to do. He’d seen Ladybug try to do that. She rarely succeeded.
He jumped out of the way of the paper plane and landed on the roof of a nearby building. Now was not the time to self-deprecate. They had an akuma to purify.
Chat Noir landed next to him with a worried expression on his face. “Are you alright?”
Nathaniel nodded. “Yeah. Sorry, I just… I don’t know. I thought I’d be able to talk some sense into him. I guess that was pretty foolish of me, huh.”
Chat Noir didn’t say anything.
…
Adrien didn’t say anything. He knew what it was like to have a close friend be akumatised. He figured that Reverser must mean a lot to Adalian.
He didn’t find trying to reason with him foolish at all.
He was about to suggest a new plan when he noticed Adalian’s face. Adrien could practically see the gears in his head turning, and his expression was quite similar to Ladybug’s. Then he spoke up. “What if we don’t destroy his plane?”
Adrien cocked his head. “Isn’t that the best way?”
Adalian smiled and shook his head. Adrien, once again, noticed how similar he was to Ladybug. Adrien smiled to himself. The kwami had picked a good holder. Adrien raised an eyebrow as a gesture for Adalian to continue.
“Reverser isn’t immune to his own projectiles. We just have to get the sentibeing to hit him.”
With a grin, Adalian raised his hand to the sky. “Lucky Charm!”
…
Nathaniel watched as a long rope fell from the sky and nearly hit him square on the head. He picked it up and looked to Chat Noir. “Just a rope? Really? Is this what Ladybug has to deal with normally? This level of vagueness?”
Chat Noir just grinned sheepishly and shrugged, causing Nathaniel to sigh exasperatedly. When he looked around for anything additional that he could use, his vision went black and white. All except for a nearby alley and a flagpole coming from one of its walls.
He smiled. “I have a plan.”
…
Reverser was sitting cross legged on the edge of Inverter, watching the chaos below him. He hadn’t found Nathaniel again, but he managed to ruin plenty of people’s days in his rampage. Served them right, as far as he was concerned. Suddenly an image came into his head. Shadow Moth.
“Reverser, are you satisfied yet?”
“Not really.”
Shadow Moth made what was probably the world’s most deadpan expression. “Just get me the Miraculous!” He said exasperatedly.
Reverser rolled his eyes and stood up. Inverter had been doing most of the work, but he still had to find the heroes. Suddenly he noticed a flash of red. “That way, Inverter!”
Now, as impressive as the giant sentibeing was, it didn’t move all that quickly. So, Reverser stepped on his plane once more to follow the red figure, Inverter not far behind.
It wasn’t long before Reverser and Inverter managed to corner Adalian in a small alleyway, with Reverser near the wall and Inverter blocking the opening. Reverser aimed a plane at Adalian, knowing he would try to block it. When he did, Reverser managed to knock the spotted yo-yo to the side. And, as any villain would, he took a moment to revel in his victory.
He stepped off his plane with a sinister grin.“Well, well, well.” He summoned another projectile and started twirling it between his fingers as his ride flew to land on Inverter. “Looks like there’s nowhere left to run.” But when he took a step forward, something caught on his leg. He didn’t even have time to express surprise before he was suddenly suspended upside down, tightly bound in a rope. The rope appeared to be attached to a flagpole…
He turned around too late. Adalian had jumped out of the way of the beam that Inverter had fired, causing it to hit Reverser instead.
…
Nathaniel landed in front of Marc. Inverter had stopped moving. “I know that you can dictate what specific trait is reversed. But Inverter can’t. So, you just turned into the complete opposite of Reverser. Marc.”
Chat Noir landed next to him, smiling. “That so? You have really good insight.
Nathaniel scratched the back of his neck sheepishly. The adrenaline had worn off. “Thanks. Guess the Lucky Charm was simpler for me.” He’d tied the rope around the flagpole and set up a ring to be stepped in before leading Reverser to him. Chat Noir had pulled the rope, and the plan had worked. Nathaniel turned to Marc. “Hey, are you okay?”
…
Marc was, in fact, not okay. It hurt to be akumatised while you were in your right mind. He still looked like Reverser, but for all intents and purposes, he was Marc. Inverter, having not received any orders, was motionless, and he still had all of the memories from earlier. That was a first.
But worst of all, Shadow Moth was still there. He was still trying to control him. It took a toll on the boy, both physically and mentally.
It really hurt.
Chat Noir had let him down, but he was having a hard time standing, even with support from both him and Adalian. They each had an arm over their shoulders, but Marc was still shaking and grimacing. Slowly, he brought one of his hands up and snapped his fingers, calling his glider to him.
Chat Noir let go of him, but Adalian held on.
When Marc finally spoke, it was slow and deliberate.
“Get.”
Adalian startled, but held on tighter. Not in a way that it hurt, but so that Marc knew that he was still there for him. The hero was gentle, even under the unusual circumstances.
“Out.”
Marc clutched his head and took a step toward his glider, Adalian right with him. Chat Noir was too stunned to do anything.
“Of.”
He managed to open his eyes and let go of Adalian, who seemed quite reluctant to let him go. It made sense, seeing how weak he must’ve appeared.
He was tired of being weak.
“My.”
He slowly picked up his glider with both of his shaking hands. Shadow Moth’s pleas were ignored.
“HEAD!”
He ripped the plane with what little strength he had left. Adalian’s shocked and concerned expression was the last thing he saw before passing out.
…
Nathaniel managed to catch Marc before he hit the pavement, whose outfit changed back to his civilian clothes as an akuma and amok flew out of the glider. He swiftly caught both of them without letting go of Marc. Once they were purified, he gently set Marc on the ground and picked up the Lucky Charm.
“Miraculous Adalian.”
No flair whatsoever. He just sadly tossed the rope into the sky. He looked down at Marc with tears dotting his eyes before he heard the beeping of his earrings. Nathaniel sighed and turned to Chat Noir.
“Make sure he’s alright.”
He left.
It really hurt to see Marc in that much pain. Nathaniel wasn’t the most decisive person in the world, but he was sure that that was one of the worst things he could possibly imagine.
He wasn’t sure of the weight of those thoughts just yet.
…
Nathaniel remembered hastily giving the polka-dotted earrings back to Tikki before sprinting back to the Liberty.
(He was normally gone during akuma attacks anyway, so he was greeted by Alix and not even questioned.)
Everyone had calmed down shortly after the miraculous cure. Marc had shown up a few minutes later, but he looked incredibly drained.
Kim, finally getting to finish his story, had stopped mid sentence when he noticed, and suddenly everyone’s eyes were on Marc. The color had drained from Nathaniel’s face when he saw the state the other boy was in.
Nino had been the first one to speak up. “Dude, are you okay?”
Marc had smiled sadly. “I will be. I’m sorry everyone.”
The kids had been quick to reassure him that it wasn’t his fault that he’d been akumatised, but Marc had stopped them.
“And Alya?”
She stood up slowly with a concerned expression.
“Talk to me tomorrow. I need a bit of rest, but I have quite the story for you.”
With that, he turned around with a final glance at Nathaniel and stepped off the boat.
…
Alya reached out to both Nathaniel and Marc the next day. Marc seemed… scared. It made Nathaniel’s heart hurt.
Before the interview, he pulled Marc to the side. “Hey. We’re not mad. You know that, right?”
Marc hesitated.
“You… do know that, right?”
Again, no response. Nathaniel was shocked. He pulled Marc into a tight hug. That was when he finally broke. Marc started crying into his friend’s shoulder.
“I’m… so… sorry… I hurt all of you guys.”
Nathaniel shook his head. “No. Shadow Moth did. I’m sorry you had to go through that. New hero came up, and everything.”
Marc looked up. “How did you know about that?”
Nathaniel froze. “…I, uh, saw it on the Ladyblog. And speaking of, you’ve got an interview to get to. It’s really brave of you, you know?”
Marc tilted his head. Cute.
Stop it, Nathaniel.
“Is it?”
“Yeah. Any akuma victim willing to give an interview is pretty amazing, but with your unique experience, it’s especially brave.”
Marc smiled, and so did Nathaniel.
“Thanks, Nathaniel.”
He blushed. “Just call me Nath. All of my friends do.”
Friends. That was the word he’d said. He was decidedly fine with that.
Marc smiled. “Thanks, Nath.”
…
With Nathani— no, Nath recording and Alya asking questions, Marc found the whole process a lot easier and more natural than he expected. Alya was good at not overstepping her bounds and making sure he was comfortable throughout the whole thing.
Marc told her and the camera about the emotions he had experienced as Reverser and the splitting headache he had when he was Inverted.
What it was like to be under Shadow Moth’s control.
What it was like to be a puppet.
What it was like to attack his friends.
What it was like to feel evil.
Most people couldn’t remember their akumatisation, but he remembered it clear as day.
It was still difficult, but with Nath there, it wasn’t quite so bad.
After a while, Marc waved goodbye to the camera as Nath shut it off.
“You were incredible, Marc!” Alya was grinning. “I’ll post this as soon as I can.”
Marc smiled back. Alya’s energy was infectious. “That was easier than I thought it would be.”
Alya gestured to the camera. “You’re a natural.”
Marc shrugged sheepishly. “I’d say it was more of your doing.”
Alya scoffed. “No way. You know what, I know your type. Trying to prove you negative people wrong is pointless. You and Marinette, I swear. Now, I’ve gotta work on getting this out there. I think it’ll be a big step towards stopping him. I can’t believe he put you through that. Thanks a bunch, you two.”
With a wave, Alya left.
Marc was glad he could contribute towards good, even if he was far from the “everyday Ladybug” Marinette was.
But even she was insecure sometimes.
He decided to keep his head up.
…
Nathaniel raised his eyebrows. “Damn. I wish I was as good at words as you are.”
Marc shook his head and smiled. “And I wish I had more confidence.”
Nathaniel smirked. “Confidence? What the hell is that?”
Marc laughed, a sound that lit up the whole room. Nathaniel joined him. “Come on, Mr. TV Star. Internet sensation. Saviour of Paris.”
Marc smiled sheepishly. “I wouldn’t go that far.”
“Well, I would. And you’re too self conscious for your opinion to matter.”
“Hey…”
“Sorry. Alix is rubbing off on me.”
The two boys chuckled and went off to enjoy their Sunday.
…
“MARC!!”
Marinette ran up to her cousin that next day, and they started walking to school together.
“Hi, Marinette.”
“I saw your interview! It was really good!”
Marc wasn’t expecting to hear that. “Uh… thanks?”
“You’ve got a lot more confidence than I do. I’m still a stuttering mess.” She laughed.
Marc really wasn’t expecting to hear that.
“It’s inspiring. You’ve gotten over your fears, so now it’s my turn. Thanks, Marc! Have fun with your boyfriend!”
Marc stopped walking and turned red. “…E-excuse me?”
Marinette blinked. She started muttering. “I really was wrong…”
“Huh?”
Marinette faltered, nearly tripping over her own shoes. “Nothing, nothing,” she said brightly.
“Marc!” The cousins turned towards the direction of the voice and saw Nath. His hand was raised in greeting and he had a small smile on his face.
Marc smiled. He turned to Marinette, but she was gone. “That’s funny…”
Nath narrowed his eyes and tilted his head. Cute.
What the actual f—
“What?”
Marc willed his face back to normal. He was somewhat successful. He shook his head, turning back to his friend. “Nevermind. Shall we?”
He held his hand out to Nath, who smiled in response. “We shall.”
He grabbed his hand, and the two of them continued their walk to school.
Friends. Both of them were happy with that.
For now.