Marinette was so excited to eat delicious cotton candy sprinkled with edible glitter. It fit her aesthetic perfectly; the only problem was there were two large lines for the sweet treat, one for blueberry cotton candy and another for strawberry cotton candy. But Marinette still waited excitedly and even spoke with the children in line with her. At one point, she couldn't help but let the children go ahead of her because she knew her time was coming up.
The strawberry cotton candy was given out by a gentleman with pink hair. The blueberry cotton candy was given out by a man with blue hair, and the man with blue hair was busy attending to someone else.
"Would you like some blueberry cotton candy with plenty of sparkles, young man?"
"Yes, sir!"
Marinette recognized that suave voice anywhere.
"Luka!" Marinette beamed.
Before Luka could take his sparkly blue cotton, he turned and smiled brightly at Marinette. "Hey Marinette!"
Marinette started to blush as pink as strawberry cotton candy, and Luka smiled down at her but tried to break the silence by clearing his throat.
"It's great to see you here," he said.
"Y-Yes!" Marinette cried. The vendor for the pink cotton candy handed her a pretty pink cotton candy on a stick.
"Strawberry flavored mademoiselle?"
Marinette quickly turned and smiled sheepishly. "Yes, sir! I appreciate it!" She took the cotton candy and handed a dollar to the kind gentleman.
Marinette was relieved to finally have her cotton candy, but she also thanked her lucky stars that she met Luka at the perfect time and that Luka liked cotton candy with glitter too! The two of them decided to eat the flowers.
Marinette kept twirling her cotton candy so the edible glitter could sparkle in the sunlight, and then she was ready to eat.
"I have been waiting for this all day!" Marinette cried before taking a bite from the soft treat and savoring the sweet taste.
Luka smiled at her before taking a bite of his own blueberry candy. The sparkles made the treat extra special, but it was nowhere near as beautiful as Marinette.
"So worth it!" Marinette cried.
Then she turned to Luka and walked up to him. Her eyes glittered like cotton candy, as if the cotton candy had magic power.
"Luka?"
Luka paused from eating. "Yes Marinette?"
Marinette placed her hands together. "Can I please share cotton candy with you?"
Luka's aqua-blue eyes shined down on her.
"Of course Marinette."
Marinette squealed and traded her strawberry candy with his blueberry candy, and Marinette picked a piece off to eat it.
"Mmm! Blueberry!" Marinette cried.
Luka hid his blushing face behind the cotton candy and took a small piece to taste the delicious strawberry flavor.
It was a lovely day at the carnival. But then Marinette and Luka's phones went off simultaneously for Akuma alerts. Marinette couldn't help but whine because another Akuma was trying to ruin a good day. But she didn't want Luka chasing after her and putting himself in danger, so she clenched her fist and ran in the other direction.
"Marinette no!" Luka cried as he tried to run after her.
Marinette turned as she ran away and looked at him with a sorrowful look that caused Luka to stop.
"I'm sorry, Luka!"
Marinette turned and continued running. She thought about the heartbreaking look on his face.
Luka dropped the pink cotton candy he took from Marinette, and Sass appeared to quickly eat the cotton candy for energy. When Sass finished eating, he flew in front of Luka's face, and Luka snapped out of it.
"It's time to transform Master Luka!" Sass said.
Luka nodded. "Yes!" And he took the snake kwami and ran to a private place where he could transform.
Marinette panted as she leaned against a tree, and even before she fought the Akuma, she was tired and dropped the blueberry cotton candy she was holding. Tikki appeared and enjoyed a piece of the glittering blue cotton candy. But then she looked up and saw how heartbroken Marinette was. The red kwami floated up and gave Marinette a reassuring look. Marinette felt the need to set her worries to the side.
"Don't worry Marinette! You can transform and protect Luka!"
Marinette blinked and then allowed Tikki to perch on her hands. "Ok Tikki!"
"Spots on!"
Viperion was ready for anything but was utterly taken aback when he saw the Akuma menace from afar. He was so stunned that it took Ladybug swinging in and landing next to him to get him to snap out of it.
"Viperion, what's wrong?"
Viperion only gave Ladybug an upset look, and then Ladybug saw a pink cotton candy Akuma, causing commotion for everyone at the carnival.
"You got to be kidding me!" Ladybug cried.
Viperion frowned. "Maybe a child really wanted some cotton candy."
Ladybug thought about how she had let some children go ahead of her to get some cotton candy, and unbeknownst to her, Luka had also let some children go ahead of him. Both heroes came to the conclusion that someone is having a bad day.
Viperion summoned his harp. "Don't worry! I can soothe anyone who is hurt." And he jumped off.
"Viperion wait!" Ladybug jumped after him.
The cotton candy Akuma was causing everyone to scream as cotton candy made everything in the carnival sticky. Viperion told everyone to run, and then he faced the Akuma while running his fingers through his harp. The Akuma noticed but didn't seem phased by Viperion's beautiful melody.
"Please don't ruin the carnival for everyone, oh troubled heart," Viperion said as he played with more vigor.
Ladybug had to stop being infatuated, but having a hero like Viperion around can make everything feel alright and make it easy to see the silver lining in the future.
But then Ladybug realized the Akuma was too strong as Viperion's music didn't phase it. The troubled Akuma turned the green trees cotton candy pink with dark magic.
"Oh no, the trees!" But Ladybug paused as a sweet scent filled her nose. It was almost hypnotic.
"They smell like candy!" Ladybug cried.
Then Ladybug and Viperion turned to see children walking towards the cotton candy trees, looking like they were all in trances. Both heroes cried in distress and pleaded for the children to come to their senses, but a few started climbing the trees. Ladybug and Viperion tried to pull them off, but the children cried out and refused.
Ladybug wouldn't give up because seeing delicious cotton candy used for evil was heartbreaking. But at a distance, she saw more trees turning baby blue like Luka's favorite cotton candy and another akuma, made of blueberry cotton candy, heading toward them.
Ladybug glared and twirled her yo-yo. "I won't let that Akuma get any closer!" And Ladybug ran off.
"Ladybug!" Viperion cried.
But before Viperion could reach her, the pink Akuma monster knocked Viperion down with a pile of cotton candy that was a lot denser than cotton candy that dissolved on your tongue. Viperion growled as he got up and pulled the sticky cotton candy off him.
Ladybug faced the giant blue Akuma and twirled her yo-yo swiftly.
"I won't let you ruin everyone's day!" Ladybug cried as she threw her yo-yo to lasso the creature.
Ladybug pulled, but she captured a giant glob of blue stuff that launched into her. She had to dig herself out and pull some blueberry-scented candy from her red suit.
"Ladybug!" Viperion cried as he placed his hands on her shoulders from behind.
Ladybug looked intently at the two akumas, seemingly stuck in their own world of sickly sweetness.
"What could possibly be troubling these two?" Ladybug asked.
Viperion got in front of her and played his harp again. But instead of trying to dispel the Akuma's powers, he closed his eyes. The snake hero attempted to understand what the two troubled akumas were trying to convey. He hoped the two akumas would open up to them.
"Want….Cotton candy…"
Both Ladybug and Viperion were stunned.
"Glittery cotton candy…"
"I want…"
Ladybug understood and quickly summoned her lucky charm. And today's lucky charm was simple: two paper cotton candy cones, one with ladybug spots and another with snake scales. She handed the cone with the snake scales to Viperion, and Viperion knew what to do.
The two heroes switched directions, and Viperion faced the blue Akuma while Ladybug faced the pink Akuma. Both heroes presented their cones.
"Please let me have some cotton candy," Ladybug and Viperion said in unison.
The two cotton candy creatures growled at Ladybug and Viperion. Still, both heroes raised their hands in protest and gave genuine looks of concern.
"Please, little one…" Ladybug said.
"It doesn't have to be this way," Viperion said.
Ladybug and Viperion presented the paper cones, and the akumas gave them a generous portion of cotton candy. And with a bit of magic, the cotton candy glittered like snow.
Ladybug and Viperion quickly changed targets, and Ladybug and Viperion smiled as they gifted different flavors of cotton candy to the Akumas.
"Go ahead and take it," Ladybug said.
But Ladybug and Viperion both yelped when the akumas forcibly took the cotton candy. There was silence for a moment, and then, with a "poof!" right before their eyes, the cotton candy akumas disappeared, revealing two children holding the cotton candy sticks. Ladybug and Viperion took notice of the dark butterflies flying around, and both caught the dark butterflies in their hands and purified them with their magic, changing them back into gentle white butterflies that flew away.
"Goodbye butterflies," Viperion said.
Ladybug couldn't help but notice that Viperion sounded a bit melancholy when he said that, but then she saw the two children, who were akumatized, happily running back to their respective parents. Viperion turned to Ladybug, and Ladybug snapped herself out of it and called upon the magical ladybugs.
"Don't worry! Easy fix! The ladybugs will love to take care of all this cotton candy," Ladybug said.
The magical ladybugs did make quick work, happily eating all the cotton candy and restoring the trees back into emerald green leaves. Viperion managed to smile again.
"Thank you, Ladybug," Viperion said.
Ladybug blushed and placed her hand behind her head. "No problem Viperion."
Then, Viperion gestured to her to take a walk with him, and Ladybug eagerly followed.
It was nice for them to walk together, but Ladybug was reminded of the two cotton candy vendors.
"Hey Viperion, are you sick of eating cotton candy?"
"Hm?" Viperion asked. He pondered for a moment, but then he chuckled into his hand. "Surprisingly, no."
"Really?" Ladybug cried.
As the two heroes walked, they both took notice of the two cotton candy vendors selling cotton candy again as if a sugar nightmare hadn't nearly destroyed the carnival.
Ladybug and Viperion stood momentarily, watching the vendors happily give everyone a cotton candy. But eventually, the vendors noticed the two heroes and happily ran up to them with paper cones of glittering cotton candy.
"Hello there, Ladybug and Viperion!" Said the vendor with the pink hair.
Ladybug raised her hand and felt awkward. "Oh hello Sir!"
The cotton candy vendor with the blue hair smiled next to Viperion. "Would you two children like some cotton candy?"
Ladybug and Viperion were stunned, but they giggled softly after a minute of silence.
"Of course!" Viperion said.
The two vendors smiled, but then they looked at each other before looking back at Ladybug at Viperion.
"Would either of you want strawberry," asked the pink-haired vendor.
"Or blueberry," The blue-haired vendor chimed in.
Ladybug placed her fingers on her chin and pondered. "I think I will have strawberry!"
Viperion grinned. "Blueberry is my favorite."
Ladybug enthusiastically ate the beautiful pink cotton candy, and Viperion couldn't help but watch his partner enjoy the strawberry fluff. Then Ladybug noticed Viperion staring at her, and he took a bite out of his blueberry candy cloud.
The two of them ended up sitting by the flowers, eating their cotton candy together and enjoying each other's company.
But both heroes couldn't help but notice that this all felt awfully familiar…
Although both Ladybug and Viperion didn't think about it further as they happily shared their cotton candy with each other. Almost breaking out into a cotton candy fight.
As heroes, a fun cotton candy fight sounded much better than fighting Akumas every week.