Hi everyone!
Dragon here. So listen, this is my first fanfiction. I got the idea from a tumblr post about a 1940's pick-up line and once I find the link, I'll attach it here. Anyway, this fanfiction is set in the 1940's which means no Marinette or Adrien but definitely lots of Cat and Lady. Now I know that the cannon series is set in France, however, it has been hinted at that there were multiple heroes with multiple cultures so mine is going to be set somewhere I am more familiar with: 1940's America which is where I assume that pick-up line would have been used.
Anyway, enough of my ramblings. Please be gentle with me for the first time but do rate and review!
Spoiler: I don't own any of things related to Miraculous Ladybug. This is a work showing my appreciation to the show.
Happy reading!
~thecrazydragonlady15
The world was falling apart.
Nancy Lambert read the newspaper in her hand with a grim look on her face. She flipped through the pages as the trolley trudged down the street towards home. A sick feeling settled in her stomach as she read about the latest events unfolding over in Europe; the year was 1940. In the previous year, a man named Adolf Hitler had invaded the country of Poland and had left in his wake a series of confusion and chaos. Whispers from the adults around her were about the possibility of war. It was only a matter of time. She bit her lip as she listened. Even someone as young as her could tell that this was not going to be good if events continued to unfold the way that they were.
She flipped the pages again. After several minutes, the trolley came to a halt, jerking its riders forward, and a tiny bell signaled the ride to be over. She looked around quickly. Folding her paper and securing her hat to her head with her hand, she followed a group of people off. The trolley left again.
Nancy was standing on the sidewalk of some town houses on the outskirts of New York City. They were narrow buildings, crammed together, with some trees and people on the street. She smiled. The sun was shining brightly and the air tasted sweet. Even the possibility of war wasn't going to dampen her mood.
To her left, she heard a group of kids but they weren't laughing like some of the others; they were shouting and when she looked, they were kicking a man into submission. Her jaw dropped. She placed her folded newspaper under her arm. Normally, a polite young woman wouldn't twist her face in such a manner as to show her anger or clench her fist or stomp down the road, but in this case, she wasn't going to let this slide. She went right up to the group of kids. The boys, all five of them, continued to use their feet on the crouching man. Nancy could see he was old. He was also small with the hair starting to recede from his forehead. He had a cane in one hand but it did him little good as he protected his face from the abuse of the boys.
"What are you doing," she called. One of the boys stopped but only stuck his tongue out before returning to the fray. Her cheeks puffed out. She grabbed him by the scruff of the neck and pulled. He went back with a thud. His friend from the right saw and immediately turned and shoved her down himself. She landed with a thud on the dirty sidewalk; her once bright yellow, collared dress was now covered in black and brown. The shock sent a cold shiver through her body. Her anger was starting to get the best of her. Before she could move though, a hand appeared out of nowhere and she looked up, amazed, to find her friend and classmate Richard Wilson smiling down at her.
"You seem to be in a sticky situation ma'am," he noted. She rolled her eyes and accepted the hand. Once up, she started dusting herself off. Richard coughed a bit before turning around. Nancy watched as he went up to the boys, grabbed two of them by the collar, and pulled them away. He then proceeded to toss them unceremoniously onto the ground. The other three saw. They left the old man with shouts, fists ready. Richard landed a punch on the first's jaw. The second got a kick to the gut. The third froze and he shot him an icy-green stare that sent him back peddling from his spot. "Get out of here. All of you." The kids staggered to their feet and took off with some shouts and comments directed at them. Richard huffed. He turned back to face Nancy, whose face was now a bit red, with a smile. "You alright?"
"Sure. No damage here. Just a little dirty. Thank-you for your help." He tipped his hat at her.
"My immense pleasure." Both turned their heads when they heard a soft groan from the older man. Nancy immediately rushed to his side. Kneeling down, she grabbed him gently under his arm and assisted him to his feet.
"Are you alright," she panicked. The older man, whom she could clearly see was a China man, nodded.
"I am alright," he replied in accented English. A sigh of relief escaped her lips and she knelt down to pick up his hat which had fallen. It was torn, dirty, and dented. She smiled sadly.
"I am so sorry. I hate that this is how America greets you but I hope your time here isn't wasted." She dusted and attempted to fix the hat as much as possible before she handed it back. He took it with a smile.
"Thank-you young lady. You have a pure heart to try and help an old man like me. I would like to reward you. Both of you." The two shared a look. Nancy held up her hands immediately.
"No-no. There's no need for a reward. We were just happy to help. Right Richard?" The young man nodded.
"Nonsense. I insist." He reached into his pocket and pulled out two boxes. Both were black and red in color with oriental designs on the top. He handed the first to Nancy and the second to Richard. They started to open them but the old man quickly, but softly, placed a hand over the tops to stop them. "Not now. Open them only when you need them."
"Need them? What do you mean," Richard asked. The old man only smiled and started walking away. "Hey wait a second!"
For an old man, he moved fast and before either one of them could stop him, he disappeared around a corner and was out of sight. They shared a look again. "What now?" Nancy shrugged and put the box inside her handbag.
"I guess we hold on to them until we need him like he said or we find him again." An awkward silence suddenly stretched between them. A light breeze forced some of her hair in front of her face and she brushed it back with a gentle hand. Richard's face lit up bright red. She didn't notice. "Uh… thank-you again but I should probably go."
"Uh, yeah, sure. I'll see you tomorrow?" She smiled and waved as started walking down the street towards her home. Richard rubbed the back of his neck, watched her disappear, before taking off in the opposite direction to head back into the city.