Nathan's sitting on the bench in the park, sketching out Ladybug, Cat Noir and Dragon Fyre, when suddenly he hears someone sit down next to him - he looks over to see Bloom Peters sitting there, an apple in one hand and her own sketchbook in the other. After a moment, she glances up and asks "Hey. This seat taken?"
Nathan shakes his head at once, blushing ferociously almost immediately, and says "N-No, not at all…" Bloom's been spending more time with him lately, now that the Particle Physics Project is done, and he's…not exactly sure what to do about it. Maybe she's just trying to be nice about his massive crush on her, or maybe she genuinely has some interest in him and is trying to show it - either way, he's every bit as bad around her as Marinette is around Adrien.
Oh, oh no…the entire class is betting on us, aren't they?
They are for Adrien and Marinette, including him. Bloom just says the two of them drive her up a very tall wall every day with their utter obliviousness - Adrien gives her this look with his bright green eyes, a look that just screams that he likes her despite him saying they're 'just friends' time and again, and Marinette's crush is as big as the school and obvious as the Eiffel Tower at night. Now he just has to wonder…is he the Adrien or the Marinette in this relationship?
"Nice sketch, Nathan. You want to take a look at mine? There's something…something's missing."
Nathan jumps, and nervously says "Um, yeah! Yeah, sure! Don't know what I could do, though, since your amazing- I mean, your artwork is amazing…" Dear Gods, may the ground swallow him up now, he's the Marinette.
Thankfully, Bloom doesn't comment on his slip, or his blush, as she moves over and shows him the sketch of the scenery - its from behind the bench they're sitting on, with a gorgeous view of the fountain and the surrounding area. He's never worked with charcoal before, but she seems to be an expert at it - it also seems really difficult, since it's always black and white.
After glancing over the lifelike drawing, he says "I'm not sure what to suggest." Mainly because its so lifelike he swears he could jump straight into it.
Bloom frowns at it, though, saying "Its missing…something. I'm not sure what, though. I was looking around while you were sketching, but nothing was popping out at me."
Bloom's asking him for advice. Bloom's asking him for advice. Now Nathan knows how Marinette feels whenever Adrien even says hello, his brain is liquefying in his head.
And then her face suddenly lights up, even as she says "I got it!" If Hawk Moth tried to re-Akumatize him, he'd find nothing but an empty husk because Nathan's brains just imploded at that look. He can only watch as Bloom starts drawing just above the bench on her own sketch, before rubbing her index finger on the spot to smudge it just right and then move to down to just under the bench. When she's finished, he sees there's now a figure facing the fountain, sitting on the bench…with a pencil behind his ear.
Nathan's throat feels like a dormant volcano, drier than a desert, when he glances up to see Bloom staring at her completed work in satisfaction. And then she gives him that smile that makes his heart all but actually stop, and says "Thanks for the help, Nathan."
Nathan quickly nods his head, then scrambles to find something - anything - to say to change the subject. His brain instantly latches onto Sabrina's relapse into Chloe's slave. "I, er, noticed Sabrina's back with Chloe despite you two outing her about the project…"
Bloom nods, getting an annoyed look on her face, and says "Chloe bribed her with stuff. Honestly, that girl needs some self-worth. And a friend who won't treat her like she's got none." She did what she could, but with Hawk Moth Akumatizing people every single day...well, her unexplained disappearances ended up being too much for the girl who Chloe would flake on at every single opportunity.
Nathan nods, then asks "You mind, um…" Gods, why did he even start to ask?! There's no way she'll say yes!
Bloom raises an eyebrow, asking "Do I mind what?"
Nathan goes about as red as Ladybug's outfit, and says "Its nothing, nevermind."
Bloom turns to face him, saying "What did you want to ask, Nathan? The worst I'll say is no."
Nathan swallows, trying to push even the smallest amount of moisture down his throat, and asks "Do you mind…sittingonthefountainformetodraw?" Bloom blinks, taking a minute to work through that, then gets up and heads over to the fountain to sit down. He ends up with a picture of her sitting sideways on the fountain, one leg angled and the other straight as she eats an apple in front of the fountain spray.
After Bloom heads off once more, Longg comes out of his spot on her ponytail and says "Something tells me you like him, Hatchling."
Bloom rolls her eyes at Longg, who seems to have pseudo-adopted her like she and her brother have each other if the nickname is anything to go by, and says "He's nice, Longg. And I'm not going to be like Chloe and break his heart."
Longg sits down on her shoulder, asking "So why all the blushing? And why'd you tell him your story?"
Bloom shrugs, saying "I don't know, Longg. I really don't know. But I did and there's no changing that." Maybe his crush on her will turn to friendship, maybe it won't…maybe he'll completely fall in love with her. She doesn't know, she can't predict the future after all!
And…she doesn't know what's up with her, either. While that's nothing new, thanks to her magic, it's new when it has to do with her emotions.
Dragon Fyre lands at the tip of the Eiffel Tower, her mood somber for once. And not even the amazing view of Paris, all lit up during the night, can cheer her up tonight.
What's wrong, Hatchling? You've been off all day.
Dragon Fyre just shrugs, saying "I know, Longg, but I'm not sure. Is it my two partners? Stuck in the most ridiculously painful love-square I've ever seen? Is it myself, with magic I still don't understand and am not sure if I really have a handle on despite all I can do with it?" Is it her own unknown feelings, ones centered around one red-haired boy from class? Or her own identity crisis, carefully hidden away from the entire world?
She's not sure, and its been bringing her down more and more as the day went on.
"Hey! Finally found you, it took me forever!" Dragon Fyre looks up in shock, and sees a small pair of bright green eyes staring at her out of a shadow. When she makes a small fireball in her hand, it reveals a small black cat there, the same size as Longg - another Kwami, then.
Longg's voice in her head says That's Plagg, the Kwami of Destruction. Cat Noir's Kwami.
Plagg says "I'm sure Longg's introducing me right now, so I'll skip the pleasantries. You know who my chosen one is?"
Dragon Fyre nods, and says "Adrien Agreste."
Plagg throws his tiny little arms up in the air, saying "Yes, thank you! I need some help, like bad. Kid's all alone up there, bar you two. You, and Ladybug. I care about all my cats, and I can definitively tell you that going to school and fighting an Akuma are the literal highlights of his day. And that's just depressing!"
Dragon Fyre sighs, and says "Great…so, why are you here?"
"Because Ladybug keeps rejecting him! Every Ladybug and Cat Noir pair - or whatever names they chose for themselves - has gotten together throughout history, but its never been like this! They've fallen for one another, and they don't even realize it! I've had to talk him out of tears, sneaking out for extra patrols, and a dozen other stupid ideas already, and its barely been a few months."
Dragon Fyre groans, then says "That's pretty much how we basically adopted each other, Plagg. We're both entirely alone, 'cept for school and Akuma battles. Longg's the only one I can talk to about things, since I can't exactly tell everyone at school I live in an abandoned warehouse filled with old clothes."
Plagg's quiet for a moment, then says "Oh…"
Dragon Fyre shrugs, saying "Not your fault, Plagg. You didn't know." I haven't told anyone that particular detail. And I don't plan on doing so either.
Plagg eventually says "If things don't progress on their own, we'll have a real problem on our hands. Broken-hearted Miraculous Holders don't make good heroes. And they're going to break each other sooner or later like this."
Dragon Fyre nods, then says "So…we come up with a backup plan. Plan B, lets call it."
Plagg nods, saying "Much as it goes against the rules…yeah. Something tells me we'll need it." He knows the identity reveal is supposed to happen on it's own - without interference on his or Tikki's parts - but this is just too much. Adrien's father can't even be bothered to have a meal with him even once a week, he's constantly looking for the man's pride when he knows he's never going to get it - since nothing's ever good enough for the cold-hearted man, and he only ever shows his face to tell Adrien how disappointed he is in the kid - and the blonde barely has any free time at all to do something he wants. He can't even be himself in public, since Gabriel Agreste's son is perfect. Perfect manners, perfect grades, perfect looks - he's naturally a very nice person, but he loves puns, anime...all things that aren't perfect in Gabriel Agreste's view. Which would be why he's always cracking jokes as Cat Noir, it's his outlet - his way to finally express the side of himself he has to bite back at all other times.
Dragon Fyre hums, then says "Marinette is in love with Adrien, but Adrien loves Ladybug…what if we introduced Cat Noir to Marinette? Let them get to know each other?"
Plagg asks "Is this Marinette Ladybug's secret identity? That…might work."
Dragon Fyre nods, saying "Marinette Dupain-Cheng. She's got a crush on Adrien the size of the school, I'm not sure how he hasn't noticed yet." Literally everyone else has, even Chloe - and why Chloe hasn't outed Mari to Adrien is a mystery to the red-head. Wait, right. Adrien would be nice to her, potentially give her a shot. Chloe doesn't know Adrien only has eyes for Ladybug, right...
Plagg says "He's got this…innocence about him. He really doesn't know she's got a crush on him. It doesn't help that he's only got eyes for Ladybug…you've got to be kidding…" They successfully made a love-square with only two people. That's a first in Miraculous history.
Dragon Fyre nods, saying "Now you see why they drive me up a wall." A very, very tall wall. Half the time she wants to scream, the other half she wants to shake some sense into them both.
Eventually, Plagg says "So, if things ever get to a breaking point, we tell my cat his partner's identity, get them to get to know one another like that, and try to keep the fallout to a minimum?" There's a time and place for secret identities, especially with Hawk Moth Akumatizing people left and right, but these two need to get themselves straightened out. Heartbroken heroes don't fight crime well, that's why the Ladybug and Cat Miraculous' have always been handed out very specifically! They've always ever been given to pairs that were compatible, that would end up together on their own!
Which is why this is looking like an absolute disaster - not to mention the detail that, if they really do break each other, than Hawk Moth would undoubtedly capitalize on the chance to Akumatize on or even both of them. The Butterfly Miraculous has been used to enhance another Holder before - and it boosts their powers even further than they already were. So, if the wielders of the powers of Creation and Destruction were enhanced...it could literally be the end of the world.
Dragon Fyre nods, saying "That's all we can do, at the moment, aside from keeping things from reaching that breaking point." And they are heading that way, with one being completely devoted to the hero persona and the other to the civilian. After a minute Dragon Fyre sighs and asks "Do you know what I am, Plagg?"
Plagg blinks, looking about as confused as a Kwami can, and asks "What you are?" He's not following the subject change, he's really not. One minute, they're talking about keeping the world from being destroyed, the next they're talking about an apparent identity crisis?
Dragon Fyre runs a hand across her face, and says "I can see Kwamis, Plagg, even without a Miraculous. I saw Wayzz and Longg when I first met Master Fu. I can burn things just by thinking about it, I don't get cold...Longg said you and Tikki were the oldest Kwamis, that you two appeared when the universe was created. If anyone would know..." How she got these powers, why they only appeared after she nearly died, why her parents didn't have any magic...all of it.
Um...oh. Yeah, now he's following. Plagg hums, then says " There was this one island of ladies, they could do similar things to you. One of them actually created the Miraculous' at our request, since we wanted to interact with the world more. But...they started disappearing centuries ago. By the time we were last activated, they'd long since faded into myths and legends."
Dragon Fyre just groans, and asks "Couldn't any of them have gotten away? Escaped whatever was happening?"
Plagg shrugs, as much as a Kwami - who's body is about ten times smaller than their heads - can shrug, and says "Don't know, sorry. But…none of them were as strong as you. I can sense what Longg sensed now, it's much easier when your right in front of me plus I already have a sense after you recharged me during the pigeon incident, and its almost impossibly powerful."
At that, Dragon Fyre groans again, asking "How powerful is that?"
"You rival Tikki and I. I'm honestly not sure how you haven't self-destructed yet. Or how you can control it as much as you can." It took him and Tikki centuries to learn to control their powers - hence the dinosaurs, and their demise - and she's only...what, fourteen?
No wonder she's got an identity crisis going on.
AN: Hey! Guess what, it's my grandmother's b-day! So, as a gift for everyone, a chapter has been posted!
Also, some sadistic side of me decided that, since Bloom's basically an overpowered goddess in this story...she needed an identity crisis, to balance things out more. At least it sounds realistic enough, so there's that.
Anyway, enjoy! More chapters coming soon!
PS, do you guys think I should keep the name 'Eagle' for the Eagle Miraculous holder or go with something else, and what do you think of the Bee name Vesper Sting?