Notes: Y'all, I am so incredibly sorry about the long gap. There were a couple things contributing, but the biggest problem was I was so incredibly stuck with this. I had D22 written like the first week I got the prompts, and I kept thinking "YES, I'm GOOD, I don't have to worry about that one!" – until I moved everything up by a day, and suddenly nothing in that ch made sense. I kept starting and stopping, rewriting every single damn time, and NOTHING was working. I even pulled out CSS (a project I started back in November, have not published yet, & am so close to finishing it's not even funny) and worked on that a bit, trying to unjam. (I also got myself distracted from ALL writing with Songbirds & Snakes (Panem just sucks you back in) and AC (…HAY GUYS DINGO'S ON MY ISLAND AND LUKA ATTACKED HIM WITH AN AXE).)

THE GOOD NEWS: I sat down with the last eight prompts, stared at a stack of paper until my forehead bled (bc that's all writing is, according to Douglas Adams), and got an outline cranked out. So my vague idea of knowing how this ends is now KNOWN, and we're just gonna bang these out, yeah? (Like…I knew how it ended, but there was a gap between what happened in D21 & what I have planned for D28/D29, but now that gap is gone. Now I KNOW how it ends.)

TL;DR: I've been blocked up worse than a bear in April, but the end is in sight, and we're gonna do this thing! HUZZAH!

Marinette's 29 Valentine's Days

Day Twenty-Two, Loop Twenty-One: Phone Call

For the first time in longer than she could remember, which really only equated to about two weeks (maybe a bit longer), Marinette didn't completely hate her alarm when she woke up. She didn't feel an overwhelming sense of dread when she heard the steady beeping, at least. She still felt tired, but not as tired as she could have been. She would maybe even dare to say she felt…hopeful.

Yesterday had been a good day.

Comparatively speaking. In light of all the same yesterdays leading up to it. In light of the fact that she still hadn't caught the akuma and that it was still Valentine's Day. Despite all of that, yesterday had been a good day.

Luka was on her side. Well. He'd always been on her side, but he was Viperion again. He was getting better. He remembered. And, no matter what happened, that automatically made the coming day better than any of its predecessors. She was even optimistic enough to think they might actually find, capture, and purify the akuma today.

She rolled over and grabbed her phone, silencing her alarm with a happy sigh. Everything was going to be ok. She was going to find the akuma and end this. And then, once they made it to tomorrow…

…well. She'd worry about that when they got there.

As she moved around her room, dressing and packing her bag, she actually found herself humming. She even did a little twirl and shimmy as she moved away from her wardrobe to grab her backpack. Tikki giggled over her cookie as Marinette sang a line about electric love, but Marinette was in too good a mood to be embarrassed. She smiled and dropped a kiss on Tikki's head before holding open her purse. With Tikki safely hidden and her bag packed, Marinette gave one final look around her room.

Yesterday had been a good day.

Today, she was sure, was going to be a better one.

She was about to head downstairs when her phone started buzzing. She pulled it out and smiled, Luka's picture appearing on the screen with the incoming call.

"Hey!" she answered, smiling so widely her cheeks pinched. She bit her lip to keep herself from giggling. When was the last time she had felt so happy in the morning?

"…hey," Luka answered, and her smile immediately dropped at how…despondent he sounded. She stepped back from the hatch, frowning.

"Luka? Are you ok?" she asked. She heard him groan, or sigh, or some strange mix of the two, and a scratching noise.

"…yeah," he said. "I'm out front. I love your dad, but I couldn't handle Hall and Oates this morning."

"You don't sound ok," she said, moving over to her window and peering down at the street below. He was leaning against the streetlamp with his bike, his head tipped back and eyes closed. He didn't look bad – he'd certainly looked worse a few days ago – but he didn't necessarily look great, either. "You don't look ok, either."

Down below, his eyes opened and found her in the window. He managed a slight smile and waved.

"I'm fine, darning," he said. "I'm just…God, this day feels so much longer now that I actually know what's going on, you know?"

"I know," she said. His eyes were closed again.

"Any chance you miraculously caught the akuma before I got here and we can just go back to bed?" he asked. She had to laugh at that.

"If I did, we'd still have school," she reminded him. "And you know Dingo would make you pay for making him deal with Belcourt solo."

"Belcourt can…" Luka started to say, but immediately cut himself off. She thought she saw him smile again. "Well. You know."

"I'm still inclined to agree with Dingo," she said with a little smirk. "Belcourt most certainly cannot. That's my job."

"M-Marinette…!" he choked, and she laughed.

"Or it will be. Eventually. I mean…that…is that something you'd be interested in? Eventually?" she asked, suddenly uncertain. On the street below, she could see him rubbing at his face, which looked redder than usual.

"…that is a conversation for later," he sighed. "When we're both rested properly and haven't been dating for…God, technically we're not even dating yet."

"We've been dating for a few weeks now," she reminded him, and he groaned again.

"Not for everyone else. Do you realize how pissed Rose is gonna be? She's going to think we've been hiding our relationship from her," he grumbled. "Ugh. Later. That's…we'll deal with all that later. God, now all I can think about is you…for the record, I'm still a teenage guy, and it's safe to assume I'm always interested, especially if it's with you. But…later. Much, much…later."

It was a little empowering, if she was honest with herself, knowing she could so thoroughly derail his thought process. Knowing that he was…always interested. Especially if it was with her.

"I'll, um…I'm coming," she said. She heard him choke, and she slapped a hand against her burning face. "Oh, God…I mean…I'll be down in a minute! Bye!"

She hung up the phone and raced downstairs, fairly certain she could hear Tikki snickering at her the entire way.

She ran into her mom on the stairs, who had been coming up to wake her. Sabine gave her a knowing smile as she told her she had a visitor out front. Marinette kissed her cheek and thanked her before racing ahead, Sabine's laughter echoing after her in the hall. She had every intention of running past her dad and outside to Luka, but Tom caught her up in a quick dance around the table as soon as she hopped off the steps. He laughed and winked at her as they stopped by the back counter, and she rolled her eyes fondly as he handed her the box of macarons and two candy apples. For her suitor.

By the time she made it out front, Luka's head was tipped back against the streetlamp again. He appeared to be sleeping.

"I thought you said you'd slept enough?" she teased, moving to secure the macarons on the back of his bike. He lifted his head, opened his eyes, and grinned at her. "Something about not being able to sleep anymore even if you wanted to?"

"…c'mere," he said, holding his arms out. She dropped the apples into his basket and went to him, letting him wrap her up in a tight hug. She leaned up and kissed his cheek, making him smile. "I'm good. Better now that you're here."

"Papa gave me an extra apple, if you're hungry," she said, pulling away and reaching for one of the apples. "He said it was for my suitor."

His lips quirked in a grin as he took the treat from her, twirling it a bit. He glanced up at her from beneath his lashes, and she felt her heart flutter in her chest. He always made her dizzy when he looked at her like that.

"Suitor, huh?" he asked. She felt her cheeks warm, but she was still smiling. He grinned and put the apple back in his basket. "Well, a bit old school, but he's not wrong. I'll take suitor. Don't think I'll take the apple, though."

He made a face and looked back at her.

"…I love your dad, Mari, but those apples are like Valentine's Day now," he said with a shudder. "I'm good if I don't see another one for a long time."

"Don't let him know that – you'll break his heart," she teased, kissing his cheek again. He moved to give her a proper kiss, but she pulled away with a quick shake of her head. He followed her gaze to see Sabine watching them from the counter, a smile on her face. "Not here. Like you said: they don't know. Better to avoid suspicion."

"…right," he said, nodding. "Got it. Let's go, then."

They didn't travel far. They ducked into an alley about a block away from the bakery, stashing his bike behind a dumpster (after he snatched his toasted marshmallow macarons from the box, which he assured her he would never tire of, unlike the apples). She quickly called on her transformation and turned to ask if he was ready, only to find him holding the ladybug-spotted egg that held his Miraculous out to her.

"I forgot to ask you yesterday," he said, rattling the egg so she could hear the bangle inside. She only realized then that he wasn't actually wearing it and that she had yet to see Sass that morning. "What's up with the eggs? I'm pretty sure these used to come in boxes."

"Luka, forget the egg – you should have your Miraculous on! We don't know when the reset will hit, and if you're not transformed –!" she tried to argue, but he hooked an arm around her waist and pulled her towards him, silencing her with a kiss. With no parents watching and out of the eye of anyone else, she let herself relax against him. She felt him smile when her hands went straight for his hair, and that made her smile, too. When he pulled away a moment later, he was chuckling, the sound a little breathless.

"That's better," he murmured, stealing another quick kiss before she could move away. "Good morning."

"Morning," she said. She plucked the egg out of his hands and opened it, dropping the bangle into his waiting palm. Sass didn't look amused when he appeared. "But seriously. I would have thought the Miraculous would stay on you and Sass would be there as soon as you wake up, but ok time magic."

"It'sssss not my magic, or it would be," Sass grumbled, burrowing into Luka's hood.

"But why an egg?" Luka pressed, taking the egg from her and waving it. "It's…"

"I don't know, ok? When the old Guardian passed the Miracle Box on to me, it turned into an egg. Or…it looked like an egg. A ladybug-spotted egg. When I was finally able to open it, all the little boxes had turned into eggs, too. I guess they take after what the box's current form is? I don't know," she said with a huff. "I'm still learning all this Miraculous Magic. I was able to transform the box – it's the mural on my wall."

"…I was wondering about that," he said, nodding. "I figured you'd tell me if it was important. When you were ready. Or not if you were just being creative."

"The boxes still look like eggs, though," she said, watching as he stashed it in his pocket with a shrug. "I don't know why, I get that it's weird, but…I kind of like it?"

"It's like an Easter Egg hunt," he said, smiling. She lifted an eyebrow, and he shrugged. "You know, when you're a kid and they hide all those plastic eggs with candy? Only you have Ladybug eggs hiding magical jewelry hidden in your tree."

"…dork," she muttered, rolling her eyes fondly. He kissed her cheek, and she shoved him away. "Would you transform already? It's getting late – I don't want to miss her."

"Aye, aye," he said, reaching up to rub Sass's head. "All right, lil' buddy. Sass, scales slither!"

It didn't take them long to reach Hannah's flat after that. And not much longer after they had touched down on the roof of the flower shop, Geoff walked out of the building, looking worse than Ladybug had ever seen him. He was slumped in on himself, his eyes locked on his phone as he tapped out a message. With a heavy sigh, he slipped his phone back into his pocket and looked back at the building he'd just left. He lingered a moment before shoving his hands in his pockets and trudging off down the sidewalk.

Hannah was nowhere to be seen.

"Isn't that our guy?" Viperion asked, his eyes following him down the street.

"Yeah, but where's our girl?" Ladybug wondered. Her eyes darted along the windows of the building. She still had no clue which one was actually Hannah's. "This doesn't make sense. They always leave together. Where…"

"Should we split up?"

Ladybug's head whipped towards him, her eyes going wide. Split up? Split up? What did he mean? They had only just gotten together, and now he…he wasn't even looking at her. He was still looking after Geoff.

"W-what?" she choked out, her throat uncomfortably tight. The idea of splitting up didn't sit well with her, not at all, but before her mind could fully spiral, Viperion turned back to her. When he saw the look on her face, his eyebrows rose comically.

"…Ladybug, focus," he said, reaching out and laying a steadying hand on her shoulder. He squeezed gently, and she shook her head to clear it. "Hannah's probably still inside there, right? So why don't I follow Geoff, try and figure out what part he's playing in all this, and you wait to see what Hannah does? There's two of us now. You don't have to do this alone. Use me."

"I…right," she said, shaking her head again. "Right. Sorry. Maybe I need my own nap by this point. You're right."

He smirked, chuckling a little. She shoved at his arm with a roll of her eyes.

"All right, all right," she said, laughing. She bit down on her smile and shooed him off. Of course that's what he'd meant. God, she was tired. "Go. Follow Geoff, and get back to me on your comm if he does anything suspicious."

Viperion nodded, but he hesitated before jumping away.

"My…comm?" he asked, looking back at her. She blinked when she looked at him.

"Yeah," she said. "Your communicator? Bug…er…snake phone? Whatever you want to call it."

She reached for her yoyo and flipped it open, like she had thousands of times before. His eyebrows rose higher at the screen flashing at him.

"…we can do that?" he asked, looking back at her. "I didn't realize that was a thing."

"You…oh," she said, looking back at her yoyo. That's right. The other heroes had always been used when they were needed. Come to think of it, she was pretty sure they'd never had to split up when calling in reinforcements. Did the others even have comms? She was sure they did, but… "Chat and I use our comms all the time…I never even thought the rest of you might not have it. His is in his baton, so…maybe your lyre?"

He pulled the lyre off his back and inspected it, but he wasn't seeing anywhere where a screen could be hiding.

"…damn," Ladybug said, frowning. She took the lyre from him and turned it in her hands. Her mind was racing, knowing they were running out of time. Every moment wasted was another chance for Viperion to lose Geoff, and then what would be the point of split…of separating? "Maybe…shoot. If Pegasus was here, he…but he'd never have time to figure something out. The ear comms would be useful, but if we don't even know how to get it…oh."

There was a niggling in her mind, an insistent press that let her know Tikki had an idea. She glanced at Viperion before stepping back from the ledge, away from where any wandering eyes might spot her, and dropping her transformation. Tikki flew up between them, paws on her hips, and glared.

"I'm magic, Marinette," she said crossly. Marinette frowned and glanced at Viperion over Tikki's head. He was biting his lip, trying to not smile and failing miserably at it. Marinette nodded, and Tikki sighed. She tapped a hidden button on the lyre. A small screen appeared near the base. She tapped the button again, and the screen slid up, revealing a hatch. An earpiece dropped out. "Every Chosen has a communicator – we have to."

Tikki handed the earpiece to Viperion, who took it with a grin.

"Oh, cool," he said. "Kwami Bluetooth."

Marinette snorted, her hands clapping over her mouth to muffle her choked laughter. Viperion grabbed for his lyre, catching it before it could hit the ground, and waved it at Tikki.

"Where was that button again? For future reference?"

Once Tikki had shown him how to access the lyre's communicator function, Marinette transformed and pulled her own earpiece out. She fit it into her ear and returned to the ledge, looking down the street. She could still see Geoff, maybe a little under a block away, at a little coffee cart. She looked back at Viperion and nodded.

"Ok. He didn't get far. If he does anything, just...think about me and talk," she said, gesturing to his ear. "Like Tikki said, they're magic. I'll hear you. Be safe."

"That's going to make this tricky," he said, pulling her in for a quick kiss. He winked at her when he pulled away. "I'm always thinking about you. Hopefully I won't say anything too embarrassing."

"Your time cancer probably filled your embarrassing comments quote for the rest of the year," she laughed, shoving him away. "I think you're good. Now go."

He looked like he wanted to say something else, but he knew he had lingered long enough. With a two-fingered salute, he turned and ran to the next roof, taking a running leap to clear the alley. She watched until he caught up with Geoff, then turned back to Hannah's building with a wicked grin.

"…can you hear me?" she asked, thinking intently of the superhero a few buildings down. She glanced over to see he was waiting for Geoff to finish getting his coffee. His eyes were on the street below, but he nodded when he heard her through the comms.

"I can hear you," his voice said softly in her ear. She smiled, a chill racing down her spine at his tone.

"Good," she said absently. Geoff started moving, and Viperion turned to stalk him along the roofs. He was about to jump to the next building. "You might be right. Definitely too easy to say something embarrassing this way. Have you seen your ass in that suit? Good Lord."

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him stumble when he landed on the next roof. In her ear, she heard him coughing.

"…you're going to kill me, darning," he said, making her giggle. Well. Maybe that was kind of the point. "And it can't look any better than yours. I love our kwamis, but whoever decided skin-tight super suits were a good idea was clearly not attracted to you."

She bit her lip, trying not to smile like too much of an idiot. She could say the same for him. Somewhere in the back of her mind, in the part that was usually preoccupied by duty and responsibility, she knew she should reprimand him for flirting while in the mask. She would have if he was Chat, she knew, but somehow…with Viperion, she didn't mind as much.

"I was thirteen when this mess started," she said, sitting on the ledge and pulling out her yoyo. She started to idly spin it, her eyes still on the entrance to the building across the street. "I don't think Tikki was too preoccupied with how my ass was going to look in the suit. Flexibility and defense were probably her top priorities. You should have words with Sass about your abs, though. If anyone's suit is distracting…"

"Ladybug, have you been checking me out?" he teased, and she laughed.

"I'm allowed to, right? I mean…girlfriends check their boyfriends out," she said. His laugh was warm in her ear, and it made her heart flutter.

"It's mutual, so we're good," he said. "Besides, my abs are more plating. I don't actually look like that under the suit."

"…oh, I don't know," she said absently. "You forget I've seen you without a shirt. I'm definitely not complaining about what's under the suit."

She jumped when she heard a crash and muffled cursing. She sat up a bit straighter, her hand going to her ear. She looked back down the street, but she couldn't see him anymore. She hadn't been able to for a few minutes – not that she'd been looking. Not when she was supposed to be watching for Hannah.

"…Viperion?" she asked, and after another moment of muffled silence she called again, "…Star?"

"I'm good," he groaned, the sound slightly strangled. "Jesus, darning, you really are trying to kill me."

"…did you run into another pole?" she snickered. He didn't answer, and she laughed harder. "Oh my gosh. What am I going to do with you?"

"It wasn't a pole," he said after a moment. She perked up as she saw someone leaving Hannah's building, but it was a blonde woman she didn't recognize. She snorted when Viperion continued. "…I might have missed my jump and fallen into a dumpster."

"Oh my God, Star," she cackled, clapping her hands back over her mouth.

"I told you. You are very distracting, and superhero or not I'm still a guy," he said. "Hold on. He's going in somewhere."

"Where?" she asked, all joking and flirting suddenly the farthest thing from her mind. She was in Ladybug Mode, serious as ever.

"Looks like an office building. Damn. I wish I had a way to track him inside," he said, and she nodded.

"Chat has bugs," she said, rolling her eyes when he snorted. "Stop. I mean like tracking bugs. They would be so useful right now."

"Good, because for a minute I thought you meant he had fleas or something," Viperion snickered.

"Stop," she laughed. "That's my partner."

"…wait, it looks like Geoff's office might have a window? Big window. That's convenient," Viperion said. She hummed.

"Hang tight," she said. "Follow him if he leaves. Let me know if you need me."

"Always," he said, and before she could comment further he asked, "Any sign of Hannah yet?"

"Not yet," she sighed. "I wish I knew which flat was hers. That would make this a lot easier."

"You've got this," he said, making her smile.

"We've got this," she corrected. "I'm sorry for sidelining all of you for so long. It seemed like a good idea at the time, but I've missed having a team. It's nice to have backup."

"You did what you thought was best," he said. "I just…I hate seeing you carry all the weight on your own. You don't have to carry the world on your shoulders, Ladybug. You may be our leader, but you have an entire Miracle Box to support you and friends willing to step up. We know the risk. We all agreed to it. Let us help you when you need us, all right?"

"…I know," she whispered, though she didn't sound very sure to her own ears. From the way he sighed, she didn't think she'd convinced him, either. She fiddled with her yoyo and leaned forward. "I do. I promise. I…I'll talk to Chat, when he gets back. And Tikki. Later. About rotating you guys back in."

"You know I'm only pressing the issue because I care about you, right? Because I worry about you and don't want you out there alone?" he asked. "Not that you can't handle it. You've proven you can more than enough. I just…you shouldn't have to. Not alone. Nobody should."

She smiled, staring blindly at the building ahead. His words wrapped around her like one of his hugs, warm and comforting. They offered a feeling of security she cherished.

"Thank you," she sighed, her eyes closing as her head dropped. "I love you."

"I love you," he answered. She smiled, looking up, when a sudden glow from the building distracted her. On the third floor, the last window before the corner, the flat was getting brighter.

"Damn it!" she cried, hopping up and swinging her yoyo. "I think I just found her flat! Viperion, get ready for the reset!"

"What?" he asked, shocked. "But he's not even…damn it!"

She stepped back as the light spilled out of the window and washed over the street, rushing towards her.

Notes: Anyone watch Leverage? I had this idea of implementing the "phone call" prompt like their ear buds, with Tikki magicking their earrings to use as comms, and then one of the LBSCers reminded me they actually did have Kwami Bluetooth in the show – which I had completely forgotten about. Whoops.