Noir Spots

Desperate Times

bitches be sick enough to be delirious while they write gay fanfiction.

its me, I'm bitches

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It was not a perfect, boring day. In fact, it was quite the opposite.

Annoyingly so.

Marinette raced through the halls, jumping over rubble and grabbing onto corners so she could quickly swing herself around without stopping. Her breath was coming out in sharp pants, her feet slapped against the ground--one of them was barefoot.

Her shoe had disappeared around the same time the screams began, she was pretty sure she had been running to meet Chloé for lunch and had tripped.

The Akuma had shown up right before lunch could start. From what she could tell, a teacher had been akumatized because of an unruly student--Marinette couldn't even blame them, she'd dealt with bullies that wouldn't stop before.

And to think she had been having a nice day.

Marinette gasped for air--she really needed to start working out outside of the suit--and tripped over a pile of bricks. She toppled to the ground with the grace of a deranged gorilla, smacking her forehead against the ground.

"Ow..." Marinette muttered, pulling herself up and rubbing her face. "Who puts a pile of bricks in the hallway?"

"Marinette! Are you okay?" Tikki called, floating out of Marinette's bag to hover next to her. Marinette smiled at her Kwami, trying not to wince in pain. Her head was stinging and she could feel the warm blood dripping down her face.

"Don't worry, Tik--"

"Guardian!" A desperate voice yelled.

Marinette sprang to her feet, frantically looking around for the source of the voice. A small blue blur of energy darted forward, flying directly into her chest in a little hug. Marinette stumbled back from the force of the hug, clearly this little Kwami was strong.

"Wha--"

"Guardian! Guardian! I have been searching for you!"

Marinette blinked rapidly, there was no way she knew this Kwami--but the only ones who weren't in the box were the Peacock and Butterfly, and there was no way it was...

"Duusuu!" Tikki cried out, her voice hysterical. "You're here! How did you escape? How did you find us? Are you okay?"

Duusuu. Duusuu was here. At her school. In the middle of an Akuma attack.

Holy crap.

"Du--Duusuu?" Marinette whispered, cupping her hands gently around the Kwami. She stared open mouthed at the Peachock in her hands.

"Hello Guardian. It is nice to meet you." Duusuu said, smiling shakily at Marinette.

A million thoughts raced through Marinette's head; a thousand worries, a hundred questions, too many hopes that this wasn't a dream. All of it boiled down to one thing: the Akuma outside was still wreaking havoc.

A crash from outside made her squeeze her eyes sut for a moment before turning to Tikki for an answer. The Kwami stared back with a desperate look. She needed to think.

A part of her brain yelled that she needed to leave, that she could leave Duusuu there and come back later.

Another part screamed about protecting the traumatized Kwami and leaving the Akuma to Noir.

The last part, from a deep, dark corner of her mind, whispered that she should just go home. To leave everything alone and take a nap, let Paris save itself for once.

Marinette straightened up, she wasn't going to listen to any of the voices. She was going to take care of everything, she was Ladybug after all.

And Ladybug could do anything, even if it meant doing everything.

And she always had plan.

Marinette nodded to herself. "Okay," She declared. "Duusuu, Tikki, we're going home first. I'm going to make sure you're safe and comfortable with the other Kwami's before I find Noir. I think I have a plan to fix everything."

Marinette dropped her gaze to Duusuu's. "But only if you are willing, Duusuu."

The Kwami stared, big pink eyes brimming with tears.

Marinette panicked. "Oh Kwami! I'm sorry I didn't mean to make you cry--" Marinette cut herself off with an 'oomph' as Duusuu slammed into her chest, sobbing violently.

"Duusuu?" Tikki whispered. "Are you okay?"

The Kwami didn't respond, instead he continued to bawl, clutching helplessly at Marinette's chest.

It took less than a minute for Duusuu to pull back with a horrified squeak. "I--I'm so sorry Guardian! I must apologize for my behavior, it was brash and I shouldn't have done it--"

"Duusuu," Marinette said gently, hoping her smile was comforting to the shaking Kwami. "You don't have to apologize, I understand how you must be feeling. But right now I need to get you home so I can take care of the Akuma. Please?"

Duusuu tentatively settled on her outstretched palm. The Kwami opened his mouth as if to apologize again, but nodded hesitantly instead.

Marinette grinned. "All right. Tikki, spots on!"

The transformation had never been so calming and smooth before. Just having Duusuu back made her so much lighter. Marinette sighed as she became Ladybug, loving the new feeling up magic that wasn't a weight. She could even feel the wound in her head fix itself.

She could do this; she just had to get Duusuu home, defeat the Akuma, find Hawkmoth, and save the world.

Only five things for her to do.

Easy as pie.

And since she hadn't had lunch yet, pie sounded pretty good.

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I just couldn't let you guys have a moment of peace, could I?