28 October 2020

Prompt: Treat

Character/Pairing: Dingo King (OC), Inkki (OC kwami)

Rating: T / PG-13 / Teen

Notes: This one kinda stumped me, ngl. Three more! Let's do this!

Something – probably a car – slams into the building above him, and Ininko Montoya lets out a colorful string of language Ladybug'll probably chew him out for later as he scrambles for (better) cover. He presses his bare back against an alley wall and peeks around the corner in time to see Chat Noir follow after the car.

There's a feeling of smugness he knows isn't coming from him, and he tries not to roll his eyes at his kwami. (He's still pissed at the little guy – he needed more training or something before running off half-cocked into an akuma fight. The new Hawkmoth has proven time and again he's more dangerous than Gabriel Agreste, and Ininko feels woefully underprepared.)

"Chat! Are you ok?" he hears Ladybug call, seconds before she drops onto the street beside Chat Noir. Chat groans as he pushes himself up, rubbing his head. His glove comes away sticky with blood.

"N-never better, M'Lady," he says, though he sounds shaken. He tries to wipe the blood away before Ladybug can see it, but even from this distance Ininko can see the way her eyes narrow at his hand. "Dammit. Where'd that new guy go?"

"Didn't think you'd want him sticking around," Viperion adds as he drops behind him. His hands are already in Chat's hair, pushing it back to see how bad the wound really is. "You'll be fine. Head wounds always bleed worse than they look."

"We could use Ininko's ink for this guy," Ladybug mutters, looking back at where the akuma is cackling above the buildings a street over, long Eldritch tendrils reaching out for another car to toss. "I can't get close enough to do any real damage, let alone find the damn akuma."

They continue to strategize, and Ininko groans as he slinks further into the alley. His Miraculous is beeping, and before he can check how many suckers are left a blue-green flash surrounds him and Inkki is falling into his open hands. He needs to recharge, but he's still new at this. He has no idea what the little guy eats.

"Ok, mate," he says, running his thumb along Inkki's bulbous head. The octopus blinks blearily at him, and he tries to smile. "They still need us out there."

"…food," Inkki says, and Dingo nods.

"Got'cha," he says. "What do you need? Cookies? Eggs? Cheese?"

"Coffee," Inkki says, and even if he's weak he still somehow manages to strike up enough ire to sound annoyed. It's probably the cheese comment: Inkki hates Plagg, and any association with the kwami of destruction tends to piss him off. Still, Dingo just blinks stupidly at him.

"Wait…seriously? I thought you just liked to swim in the stuff," he says. "It's not food."

"I need coffee," Inkki tells him with all the severity of a university senior stuck with an upper-level class at seven AM on a Friday. His tentacles curl around Dingo's fingers, and Dingo suspects if he doesn't find him some coffee soon Inkki's going to ink his ass.

"Right! There…ah…I think there was a café a few shops down…" he mutters, glancing around. If they were still open – any sensible business would've shut down when the cars started flying.

When the coast is clear (of both other supers and projectiles), he darts down the road to where he kind of remembers the café being. The front window is shattered, and the door is hanging off its frame. He ducks inside to find the place deserted, so without a second thought he vaults the counter and grabs one of the coffee pots on the back counter. He drops Inkki in without a second thought and moves to the pastry case, pulling out a croissant just to be safe. Inkki has submerged himself in the coffee, and when he pops back up he looks worlds better.

"You sure you don't need something more sustaining?" Dingo asks, waggling the croissant at him. It won't be as good as one of Marinette's, but he's known her long enough to know why her parents are the best bakers in Paris.

"Coffee is life," Inkki chirps, bobbing in the pot. Dingo rolls his eyes and takes a bite of the croissant. He was right: it's shit compared to a T&S classic.

"Well, hurry up," he says, tossing the croissant towards the bin. If it misses, Dingo doesn't worry too much: Ladybug's Miracle Cure will clean it up, anyway. "They need us back out there."

He hops onto the counter next to Inkki and watches him submerge himself again. He doesn't resurface, but the coffee in the pot starts to…sink. It continues to disappear, and a moment later a very happy, very bloated Inkki can be seen in the dregs at the bottom of the empty pot. He burps and sighs, his tentacles flopping like he's Dalek Caan and has just flown into the Void.

…he wants to tell Inkki how weird he is, but Dingo's never really liked that word, anyway. He stays quiet until Inkki floats up a moment later, nodding and letting him know he's ready.