For all those Miraculous Fan-artists out there, I'm sure you guys could relate to the horror of drawing Chat's hair. Bananas ring a bell? And I figured, what if it's the same with Nathaniel? Even the best get stuck.
Then we have all of Chat's puns- and for those writers who can't snatch the punny moments like our favorite kitty superhero does, it's a challenge to write puns and one-liners... It might be a problem Marc could run into.
That's where the idea came: Adrien helping Marc and Nath making Comic Book Chat. Who better to aid them than the original punster?
Hope you enjoy!
Adrien jabbed a finger at the empty comic panel, "What's supposed to go here?"
Nathaniel's gaze flickered up for a moment, but returned to his desk, "Just Chat Noir and his pun,"
At this, Adrien arched a brow, "Oh?"
Marc nodded from beside Nathaniel, but it was barely noticeable due to his hood. Adrien tilted his head to glimpse at the shy boy, and he waved a quick greeting. Marc only ducked lower behind Nathaniel.
The ginger's eyes widened, and he sent Adrien an apologetic smile, "Marc's a little shy,"
Adrien's smile didn't fade, instead he allowed himself to smirk in the slightest, "That's too bad- I wanted to tell him what an amazing job the two of you did on your comic,"
Not only did Marc's face mirror Nathaniel's hair, but the ginger boy reflected Marc's hoodie. Adrien made sure Marc saw his smirk- these two boys deserved praise. Ladybug never looked so elastic in any comics he had ever seen before- the artwork was just splendid.
And so Adrien returned his attention to the page in his hands- it was a scene starring the original heroes of course, and it was no surprise that an akumatized villain was in the opposite panel- a large man with enough traffic signals on his outfit to rival a driving school's handbook. Adrien could only guess what his mission was- Nathaniel was still sketching it.
"So..." Adrien began slowly, and watched at Marc ducked lower, "Is there any more?"
Nathaniel shook his head slightly, "Not yet- this is just a draft."
Adrien nodded at that, and peeped over Nathaniel's shoulder to sneak another peak at the quick hands- sure enough it was Ladybug's face- and did she look radiant. Nathaniel moved with practiced ease, his pencil flying over the page- leaving neat lines in it's wake that would all eventually join to complete the iconic face everyone knew and loved- except Hawkmoth.
Adrien asked the pair of boys, "Did you guys draw Hawkmoth yet?"
At this Nathaniel's pencil screeched against the page- making Ladybug pigtail look rather spiky for a change- but Adrien didn't miss how Marc sunk lower into his chair- what was that about?
Nathaniel turned away from Adrien, "Well... We..."
Adrien frowned ever so slightly- but he couldn't hide the curiosity in his voice, "Even if it's just a draft- can I see it?"
Nathaniel's head snapped to face Adrien, "No!"
The blonde boy's brows met, and he had to pull away just in the slightest to express his confusion, "Why not?"
Adrien turned just in time to make eye contact with a wide-eyed Marc, "I don't mind seeing the rough sketches,"
And it was that moment did Adrien notice that Marc had green eyes- bright green eyes at that- huge bright green eyes-huge, lovely bright green eyes- wow.
Marc blinked quickly, but for some reason that Adrien couldn't fathom, he wouldn't tear his eyes away. The blonde didn't mind- how many people had such green eyes in this school? Not enough- hence it being the rarest color in the world. But for heaven's sake- how could Marc possibly have such shocking eyes? Now Adrien wouldn't mind looking just a bit longer...
Adrien blinked- and the green spell was broken. Marc turned away and looked at the desk with firm determination. What was that about?
Nathaniel stole their attention, "Actually Adrien... it's just that... just that... you see... well... Hawkmoth... is um..."
Adrien was vividly reminded of Marinette- with her shyness and stuttering. Not that he wasn't used to it by now, but coming from Nathaniel was more than concerning. Who was he kidding? The inner mischief that was Chat Noir leaped out to arch a brow and pull on that curious look- complete with a tilt to his head. And maybe a small confused pout.
Nathaniel didn't stand a chance. The boy's eyes widened, and he practically ducked his head back onto the desk, to leave Adrien giving that look to poor Marc. No one could refuse the kitten eyes- not Chloe, not Nathalie, not his father, not Ladybug, and not even Plagg. Consider it Adrien's special gift.
Marc spilled in two seconds flat, "We based Hawkmoth on your father's figure."
Now this was interesting.
Adrien's jaw slackened, and the kitten look slipped off his face to reveal widened eyes. Nathaniel groaned from his desk, and if he could have sunk more into his chair- he would have. Marc, on the other hand, was staring at Adrien better than any deer in any headlight. And for a full ten seconds, the Art Club's room was silent. Mainly because the three boys were the only occupants.
Then finally, Adrien swallowed the lump in his throat and tried to say at least something, "Well... That's-"
Nathaniel's head shot up from the desk, and covered his work with his hands, "Don't scrap it!"
Adrien reeled back, a deep frown gracing his face, "Scrap it?" He put folded his arms, "Why would I do that?"
Marc and Nathalie shared a glance, before the ebony hesitantly looked back to Adrien. The blonde could only keep the same confused face. Why would they think I would scrap their work?
Adrien shook his head slowly, and his eyes went back to the Chat-Noir-lacking comic page in his hands. The smile was automatic and genuine, "Why would I scrap such an amazing comic?"
Nathaniel and Marc shared yet another look, before the ginger asked slowly, "So... you're not offended?"
Adrien actually laughed at that, and he held up the comic page again, "Offended? Me?"
He waved it off, but his grin remained, "I'm honored!"
Before the boys could ask him to explain, or even interrupt him, Adrien continued with his hands on his hips, "How many other students have villains as their father?"
Nathaniel was quiet for a moment, but Marc burst out into chuckles at Adrien's statement. Only then did Nathaniel finally give a half-smile that inched up to a full grin. But Marc was having a rather hard time stifling his sounds- Nathaniel sounded relieved. Adrien could easily have him chuckling too, couldn't he? Puns never fail!
Adrien bit his lips, but the puns escaped him, "Its sounds like a fur-tastic idea, be-claws Mr. Agreste is purr-fect in compurrision to Hawkmoth."
Now Adrien was used to getting fed-up looks from Ladybug due to his puns, and occasionally a chuckle or two. But never before did he see such a shell-shocked reaction from his play on words.
Adrien's smile faded, and he lowered his head ever so slightly in defense, "Is everything alright? Nathaniel? Marc...?"
Marc snapped his jaw shut, and grabbed the sheet of paper from Nathaniel's desk in such a blur that the ginger hadn't noticed until Adrien became wide-eyed. Marc picked up a pen out of thin air and scribbled something onto the parchment.
Nathaniel leaned over, and he grinned at something that Adrien was rather nervous to discover. Maybe the pun was a bad idea? Maybe his Chat Noir was showing too much- he overdid it. This was why he rarely made jokes, people didn't expect it from him. So of course Nathaniel and Marc would dub him as weird from now on.
Marc threw the pen onto the table and lifted up his paper with a loud, "Aha!"
Nathaniel took it, and nodded in approval, "Sounds legit…"
The curiosity that came from being a cat-themed superhero overwhelmed Adrien, and he found himself asking, "What is it?"
Both the ginger and the ebony shared a grin, before Nathaniel held up his paper, and pointed at a comic strip in the bottom left. It held a quick sketch of Chat Noir, his smile wide and the dialogue box announcing, 'Sounds purr-fectly fur-tastic Milady!'
And Adrien couldn't help his grin, and he pointed to the page, "You used the puns I just made!"
Marc nodded eagerly, finally inching out of his shell now that more than the ice was broken, "You're a natural pun maker Adrien,"
The blonde took the unintentional bait, "You mean I'm a punster,"
Marc chuckled, while Nathaniel rolled his eyes. The ginger jabbed a finger in his closest friend's direction, "Marc was having writer's block with Chat Noir's puns,"
Adrien nodded in complete understanding. It was a common thing, not everyone could make up such amazing puns on the go- even the best get stuck. And the blonde was reminded of the time he couldn't find rhymes when fighting Frightingale- that had been a nightmare, the thought gave him quite a scare at the thought of almost losing the battle there.
Adrien resisted the urge to smirk, he was getting better with words. Not only puns, but rhymes- and never forgetting that there were opportune moments when sarcasm would come into play. And you bet Chat would try to steal such an opportunity.
Nathaniel interrupted Adrien's trail of thoughts when he gestured for the blonde to return the paper, "I just need to fill in some more details with his hair,"
Nathaniel's eyes narrowed to a deep glare, and he grounded his teeth together, "That god-forsaken hairstyle that Chat Noir keeps,"
Nathaniel turned to Adrien, and shook his fist at the paper, "His hair takes me so many tries to get it looking natural!"
Marc nodded and continued, "And I need some more of his puns…"
Somehow, Marc got that mischievous look in his eyes that Adrien was used to seeing in the mirror, and then the model discovered why is was so appealing, "Have any more puns that you're willing to share Adrien?"
Adrien couldn't agree fast enough, "Cat would be a clawsome idea!"
Marc clapped his hands together- his shyness pushed to the side, "Great! Let's start… You can use this chair Adrien, and bring it right here- yep, next to me… A bit closer- that's it! Now… let's begin!"
Author's Note: This might continue, or I'll leave it as a one-shot. Tell me what you think!
And to those writers and artists out, I wish you the best of luck. You'll need it if you're making that unlucky kitty.