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silverwhiteraven · 3 years

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Wings of Broken White - Ch.8

Tag List: @marichatmay

[ Posted on Ao3 ] [ Chapter 1 ] [ Chapter 7 ] [ Chapter 9 ]

Marinette and Chat Blanc continued to see each other sporadically after their midnight meeting full of emotional rollercoastering and winged secrets. He had told Ladybug about it a few days after, leaving out the part about Marinette’s revealing of having wings. It made her heart skip to know that he would keep a secret that wasn’t his to tell even if he didn’t have to. Ladybug thanked him for being honest with her and told him to be careful, but she was happy he got the chance to spread his wings around another friend.

Ladybug also offered to increase their patrols together if he ever wanted to practice flying with her. She even teasingly said something along the lines of them both needing the benefit of practicing with each other, just in case they ever had to have each other’s backs during a fight in the skies. He accepted, looking giddy to get even more opportunities to fly with another. She also found it unfairly adorable when he joked that he wouldn't get jealous if she wanted to fly around with one of her own civilian friends.

The two even thought about the possibility of some day both flying with their civilian friends together. Ladybug had to hide her giggle at the thought that she might have to break the news that Ladybug and Marinette could never fly together, if this proposed group flight practice were to ever take place.

But Ladybug did confess to Chat Blanc, that if she were to ever choose a civilian to fly with, it would be either Nino Lahiffe or Alya Césaire, because if there was anyone besides Marinette Dupain-Cheng that was trustable, it had to be the people Marinette herself trusted most. Chat hardly held back on his approval of the choices, and it made her laugh to see his bright antics.

After that, several more months passed by the duo, and the world. School was nearing the end of another year. Akuma’s were just as rare and random as ever. Best of all, Chloé had continued to be reprimanded by an ever vigilant Adrien. She was starting to almost mellow out as the fact slowly sunk in that someone she cared about and who cared about her, too, was actually willing to go against her, and even leave her, because she was in the wrong.

All of this led up to an end of school project for their class.

The students were to work together in equal shares to put on a play, telling either one of the fairy tale stories they had studied in class, or one they made up on their own. Nino had proposed that they make a short movie out of the project so that the fruit of their joint efforts could be shared outside of class. The teacher thought the idea was brilliant, and gave them extra time and afterschool privileges to help them set up.

Marinette had been a little tired the day the class was assigning the roles. Her mind only half paid attention, causing her replies to be badly timed and delayed. Because of it, an interesting selection of character parts were assigned.

“Now, I know we’ve been delaying assigning the lead roles,” Nini spoke from where he stood at the front of the room, acting as one of the movie’s directors, “ but I wanted to make sure everyone knew what the other options were before a bunch of people tried to jump at being the Knight of the Princess. So let’s start. Any volunteers or votes for the Knight’s Princess?”

There was various various calls of names and a few ‘me!’s, and most of it all went over Marinette’s head. The only part that really registered was ‘votes for the Knight’, so Marinette half-heartedly pipped in, “Adrien could do it.”

The room went quiet and all eyes turned to her like she had just declared herself to be an Akuma or something. She blinked, wondering what she said.

Nino was the one to break the silence with a crooked and amused smile. “Marinette, you want Adrien to be the Princess?”

She gaped like a fish, realizing she had heard his earlier question completely and utterly wrong. She waved her arms around and she stuttered, trying, and failing, to clear away her mistake. She froze when Adrien burst out laughing, clearly not offended or even upset.

“Why not?” Adrien chuckled as he calmed. “Not the first time I’ve been told I’m pretty enough to be royalty. It would be a nice break from the cool-guy look I’ve been doing at photoshoots lately, too.”

The room started to buzz again with noise. It seemed everyone was considering it, liking the idea of breaking away from assigning a girl to be the Princess.

Alya pipped up above the others mischievously. “So if Adrien get’s to be the Princess, who’s taking the role of Knight? Another of the boys, or one of the girls? At this point, anyone can take the spot since we’ve decided to ignore traditional gender roles. Any volunteers?”

There was more discussion filling the room at that declaration, and a few people glanced at Chloé. She had probably been gunning for the role of Princess, but now she seemed to be pouting. “If Adrien is taking the lead role, then I still want a good one. But I refuse to be a smelly Knight! I’d rather be the King.” She stated decidedly, and the class chuckled and murmured their acceptance of her decision. They were happy to have her not throwing a fuss. It was rather refreshing, actually, to see her still being dramatic but cooperative with the class.

Murmurs continued as the class discussed the role of Knight. Marinette stayed out of it, too embarrassed that she might mess up again. It wasn’t long before Adrien hummed to himself and turned to her.

“Marinette? Would you like to be the Knight to my Princess?” She squeaked at the sudden proposal, and the class hushed. Adrien turned to the others, a small but confident smile on his lips. “She’s helped all of us in Akuma attacks before, right? Marinette acts the part of a Knight saving dames and damsels in distress naturally. I think she could do this, if she wants to, that is,” he adds with a reassuring glance. There wasa round of agreements from the others, before all eyes turned to her, breaths held in anticipation of her answer.

Retreating into the neckline of her oversized shirt to hide a fluster, she nodded her acceptance. There were a few excited woops, and Kim even whistled.

After that, all the roles and assignments for the project were set.

Marinette and Adrien were to be Knight and Princess. Chloé and Juleka took to the King and Queen. Kim and Ivan claimed a joint role of the Dragon for themselves. Rose volunteered to be the Evil Sorceress. Mylène wanted the role as the Knight’s Fairy Guide. Alix was to make props and set backgrounds in the art room. Nathaniel and Alya were the script-writers for the story. Max and Nino were on camera duty with the help of Markov. Sabrina was put in charge of coordinating, scheduling, and final edits.

Lastly, everyone was given two tasks as a group: First, if they had nothing to, they were to help their fellow classmates who were still working. And second, everyone pitches in for the costumes if they can.

Everything went surprisingly smoothly for their project once everything was divided up. Adrien got Chloé to pitch in for the costumes with him, both allowing their immense closets to be raided. Alya and Nino were able to check out cameras from the yearbook and photography clubs. Props became a group-effort when most of the class rather enjoyed, and got carried away with, the art room’s free to use supplies. Some of the musically inclined were putting together a playlist for mood and background music. Kim helped the cast members practice their lines, even standing in for a partner if someone wasn’t there.

It was fun, Marinette had to admit. Up until the inevitable hitch caught up to them, though.

The days of filming their project were upon them. The school’s courtyard had been commandeered for the majority of their sets, empty due to it being a weekend. Large green rolls of poster paper had been used like wallpaper, hung from the second floor banisters to act as a greenscreen. The stairs got covered in painted cardboard so they would look like castle walls and towers from the side.

The entrance to the school was left clear, since the class had deemed it worthy to be its own set background twice over. The first was to act as the front gate to the King and Queen’s castle for the opening scene outside. The second would be from the inside, doors closed and covered with curtains to make it look like the inside of a Great Hall. To give the makeshift Great Hall its finishing touch, Chloé had ‘borrowed’ the fancy chair from her Father’s office to act as a throne.

All in all, things went great. The story and filming opened with the Knight, Marinette, decked out in painted cardboard and foam armor, returning from a mission in another country. He was summoned by the King and Queen immediately upon arrival, to be told that the Princess, Adrien, had been cursed and kidnapped by the Evil Sorceress. To their credit, Juleka and Chloé actually did an amazing job of acting and looking like emotionally distressed parents who just lost their daughter. And when they did a flashback scene in one of the classrooms, Rose proved to be one scary Evil Sorceress with Adrien a perfect damsel in distress. They did have to redo the scene several times, though, because the Queen, Juleka, was having trouble not looking like she wished she was being kidnapped by a very pretty girl instead.

The Fairy Guide, Mylène, was then called forth to help assist the Knight in tracking down the Evil Sorceress and navigate through the Magic Woods. This part took a mix of walking along the makeshift greenscreen wall multiple times and actually going out to a few of the parks around Paris. They had to admit to themselves, though, that they mostly just wanted to run around in-costume and have fun, as well as eat a picnic that Alya’s mother and Marinette’s father had both contributed to after hearing about the project.

It was the pre-rescue battle scene that caused the hiccup. The class artists had done a too-good job on the two-person costume of their Dragon. Kim sat upon Ivan’s shoulders, allowing the Dragon to have an impressive two and a half metre height from head to ground. Kim was also very set on being very animated and expressive with the Dragon, so the mouth, full of sharp paper mache fangs, opened and closed at his command while he threw glitter out like it was fire. Ivan controlled the legs, wings, and body, which all had moving parts for mobility. The legs were strapped to his own, so they walked and stepped when he did. The wings were controlled by Ivan’s Raven wings, allowing them to move realistically. Kim, acting as the neck, would twist around, and Ivan, needing to keep balance, would follow his movements, causing the whole dragon to lumber around and sway like it was alive.

The Fairy Guide, Mylène, couldn't bring herself to face the Dragon at all, let alone appear on set with it. What really took them off guard, however, was the Akuma that came along as the class was gathered around Mylène.

#marichatmay2021 #marinette dupain cheng #adrien agreste #ml wing au #wing-binding #chat blanc #willowbendt

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maggies-scribblings · 4 years

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Marichat #4 for that drabble prompt list? :3

“Who gave you that black eye?”

Thanks for the ask, @lady-charinette! I got a little carried away, so I will finish it later… 😻

Adrien Agreste was a peculiar young man. When he was most stressed out and overworked, all he wanted to do was go out and run around. Naturally, having magical jewellery with the ability to turn into a cat hero came in handy on these occasions.

Today was one of those days…

School all day with an impromptu photoshoot during lunch — It’s just some pick-ups, Nathalie said. You’ll be done in thirty minutes, she said. He was definitely not done in thirty minutes. Instead, not only did he miss lunch but also got to the first class ten minutes late. He could hardly hear her Mme. Mendeleiev’s scolding over his stomach growling.

After school, he had fencing and Mandarin lessons, and a pesky akuma attack to round the day off. He could hardly keep his eyes open during dinner. Thank goodness Father isn’t here, he thought as he munched on his food, slumped over the dinner table, supporting his head on his left hand.

And yet, by the time he finished his homework and preparations for the next day, he felt revived. The physical exhaustion had worn off as he wound down, leaving him absolutely wired. He knew he wouldn’t be able to sleep until he let off some steam.

Moments later, a black-clad catboy was running, vaulting and whooping over the rooftops of Paris. All was peaceful — it always was after an akuma attack — so there wasn’t any real need to patrol.

He decided to stop by his collège on the way home, as there had been break-ins at other schools to steal computers… Nothing to report here either.

As he zoomed over the school’s rooftop to make his way back home, he caught sight of a familiar form on a balcony across the street, under some colourful fairy lights.

In the months that passed since that night, when Marinette pretended to like Chat Noir, he realised he liked her. Much more than he thought. It would be really nice to hang out with her more in his civilian form, and he sought her company often, but she was still awkward with him. When he visited her in the catsuit, though… it was almost as if she was a different person. He stopped by once in a while to check in on her. They confided in each other (without revealing details) about their respective unrequited loves and broken hearts.

As he jumped closer to the bakery, Chat Noir noticed Marinette was resting her head on her arms as she stood leaning on the railing. She seemed to be talking to herself. Was she crying? Concerned, he approached, landing on the bannister gently, so as not to startle her.

“Good evening,” he greeted, softly.

Marinette straightened and looked up, holding an ice pack to her right eye.

“Oh! Hello, Chat Noir. What are you doing here?”

She pulled away the ice pack to flip it to the colder side.

“Whoa!” Chat Noir couldn’t hold back his worries. “Who gave you that black eye?”

He leapt down onto the balcony and approached her to get a better look.

“Is it very bad? It was just pink earlier… I was hoping the ice would keep it from turning black.” Marinette fretted, picking up her phone to turn on the camera in selfie mode.

“Crap! I look horrible,” she said, mostly to herself.

“Let me see.”

Chat Noir delicately used a claw to lift up her chin and swiped her bangs out of the way with the other hand.

“It’s not too bad. I’ve had worse,” he quipped, and was rewarded with a small smile. He then straightened up and continued in a mock-serious tone, wagging a finger in the air. “My prescription is to keep icing your eye hourly, but never more than twenty minutes at a time. You can also steep some chamomile tea bags, let them cool down in the fridge and then apply.”

Marinette laughed at his schtick. It was exactly what he was aiming for. He liked to hear her laugh. Changing his act, he menacingly punched his own palm.

“Now, are you going to tell me who I’m going to beat up?”

Marinette hesitated for a fraction of a second.

“No one. Unless you want to beat me, haha! I just— punched myself… sewing!”

“How can anyone punch themselves sewing?” He tried not to laugh — and failed. “Sorry, I just can’t see it.”

“Well, it happens. I was… sewing leather! You see, leather’s tough, and you have to pull the needle real hard, then sometimes it just — whoosh — and —”

Marinette mimicked sewing movements as she described it (she’s too adorable!)

“I didn’t know you were into leather…” he purred, bending down to her eye level, and winked.

Marinette pushed him away by the nose, balancing herself on one foot.

“Don’t you start, you silly kitty!”

He froze. Something about her tone of voice, the way she pushed his nose playfully…

“Well, little lady, if you can’t handle a little flurrrting, just let me know!”

“You really are a tomcat, aren’t you? I bet you flirt with every girl in Paris.”

Chat Noir held his hand to his heart in mock offence.

“Why, I would never! I only have eyes for my lady and my little lady!”

“That’s still one lady too many for my taste!”

“Unfortunately, my Ladybug won’t give me the time of day.” His voice had lost all playfulness now. “I’m a hopeless, loveless kitty.”

He thought he saw her deflate somewhat.

“Poor kitty. I know exactly what that’s like.”

“The boy who broke your heart?”

“Hmm-hmm.”

“What— the guitar guy?” Chat Noir felt a rumble of anger bubbling in his chest. “The one with the weird eyelashes?”

“No!… And he has nice lashes, they’re just short.”

“Huh. I thought you were going out with him.”

“Definitely not. We hang out sometimes… but I just can’t open myself up to him as much as he needs me to.” She leaned against the railing again, looking towards the Seine. “He can read my emotions the way nobody else ever has, and sometimes I just can’t handle it.”

“Huh.”

Adrien’s chest ached. Weirdly, some part of him was happy to find out Luka was out of the picture.

“So… there’s another boy?”

“Yes. It’s hopeless.” Marinette sighed, but did not cry. Instead, she shook her head and breathed a bitter laugh. “I can’t even speak properly when I’m around him. I even told him I don’t like him like that… twice! And then pushed him and another friend together… I think they’re dating now! So yeah, I cock-blocked myself!”

“Language!” Chat Noir didn’t know what else to say except joke or pun. Anything to keep her from crying. “You should say cat-blocked instead: it’s nicer and a brilliant pun!”

She chuckled again.

“So, I cat-blocked myself. I might as well have told them to elope to Japan. I just made a fool of myself in front of the ice-cream man… again. And ran away… again.”

“Japan, huh?” The truth was right before his eyes, but he refused to admit it. Not without more information. “That’s a long way away for two French kids to elope.”

“Oh, she’s Japanese. I can just picture them, living a perfect life, winning fencing competitions together… Posing on the cover of gossip and business magazines as the new power couple in the industry…”

“Wow, you’ve given this a lot of thought, haven’t you?” He turned to her. “Don’t tell me it’s that model boy all the girls swoon for!”

“Bingo!”

Chat Noir had to sit down. He slid down with his back against the railing. How did he never see it? Was that why she behaved so weirdly around him? That would explain the posters, and the valentine card, and… He hit his forehead in frustration so hard Marinette looked down at him, confused.

“What’s wrong, Chat Noir? Are you okay?”

“I’m fine, Marinette. Just wondering what’s with this Adrien guy. All the girls seem to be fighting over him.” He added, smirking, “ I’m prettier, funnier, and better dressed than him. Sure, he’s rich and handsome—”

“That’s not why I lo—like him!” she snapped. “It might be the reason for those other girls, but not for me.”

“Why do you lo-like him then?” He asked in a whisper.

Marinette sighed and sat on the floor beside him, fidgeting with the now warm ice pack.

“I kinda hated him at first. I thought he was another stuck-up, spoiled, rich brat, like Chloé.”

Chat Noir couldn’t speak, so he nodded for her to continue.

“There was a silly misunderstanding, and I gave him the cold treatment. And he still took the time and effort to apologise. He was so sad by the thought of a total stranger not liking him…” She sighed, a small smile returning to her lips. “Then he made a kind gesture, a small one, but so sincere… he gave me his umbrella though it was raining,” breathing a chuckle, she added, “then, of course, I had to get an attack of the clumsies and make him laugh.”

Adrien remembered that. He remembered how angry she was at first. How she heard him out even if he was friends with her bully. He remembered the tingle he felt when their fingers touched. How she laughed with him when the umbrella snapped close on her.

“When I heard him laugh, I was a goner. Yes, he’s a model, rich and famous… but it was his kindness that I fell in love with.”

“Fell— in love?”

He could hardly breathe. The last years flashed before his eyes. When they paired up for the tournament. When she helped him run away from his fans. When she danced with him at Chloé’s party. His head was spinning so much he couldn’t stand up.

Of course the coolest, prettiest, kindest girl he knew was heartbroken. She was right there, at the same time he chased after Ladybug in vain. She was his everyday Ladybug, and he was too blind or too stupid to see it!

Ladybug would never love him. He would always be the sidekick. He couldn’t even protect her properly. It was his only job. Even that same day, the soccer akuma hit her with a ball on the face. Hard. The Miraculous cure had healed most of it, but he could see her right eye swelling visibly even under the mask before they separated. He told her to ice it, too.

It was ironic that his everyday Ladybug hurt herself in the same eye. What a coincidence…

Chat Noir was hyperventilating now, as all the pieces of the puzzle fell into place. His perfect vision went blurry all of a sudden. He heard Marinette calling his name. Marinette? Ladybug?

Everything went black as he tried to call her name.

To be continued…

Send me an ask with a number and a LoveSquare pairing (Including SnekMouse, etc.)

Prompt list here.

[Conclusion]

#Miraculous Ladybug #Marichat #ml fanfic #miraculous fanfic #prompt asks #my fic #my writing

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spiffysixxsense · 4 years

Note

Hello annoying best friend here to fulfill my duty by asking you to answer all of the cute asks

angel; do you have a nickname?

not really. my name is already short and I don't have a prominent quality to nickname me after. The only person who refers to me as anything other than my name is my boyfriend, but I don't think “babe/baby” really counts as a nickname lol

awe; how old are you?

baby; favorite color?

dark teal (blue-green? I've never found a good name for my favorite color)

bloop; spirit animal?

so because I didn't have a good answer for this, I decided to google a quiz to find out, lol. My answer was a deer. here's why;

When you have the deer as spirit animal, you are highly sensitive and have a strong intuition. By affinity with this animal, you have the power to deal with challenges with grace. You master the art of being both determined and gentle in your approach.

The deer totem wisdom imparts those with a special connection with this animal with the ability to be vigilant, move quickly, and trust their instincts to get out the trickiest situations

blossom; favorite book/movie/song?

i don't really have a favorite book, i don't read much outside of school (I wish i did)

movie: A Beautiful Mind

song: oh dear lord i cannot pick just one, but all-time favorite band of mine is Shinedown

blush; what was your stuffed animal as a child?

a little stuffed dog that looked like Kipper from the TV show, I still have him :)

breeze; most precious childhood memory?

lmao what came to mind was when i pledged to never drink, smoke, or say bad words. two out of fucking three ain't bad i guess.

bright; mermaids or fairies?

(honestly neither but) fairies

bubbles; do you have a best friend?

given the asker, i would say yes :) also i am lame and my boyfriend is also my best friend

buttercup; showers or baths?

S H O W E R S. hate baths!

butterfly; dream destination?

I've never had a huge desire to travel honestly. like sure i could say Italy or Greece look beautiful, but the actual act of traveling overseas really stresses me out lol. so i would have to say more like upper midwest, like Maine, in the fall time for all the pretty trees.

buttons; are you religious or spiritual?

i am neither

calm; favorite scent?

anything fruity - pineapple, mango, berries, apples. at least in terms of what candles i like lol.

candlelight; what did you dream about last night?

i do not remember anything from last night - the last dream i remember involved my boyfriend, dad and i being lost up north lol

charming; have you ever been in love?

currently

cozy; eye/hair color?

hazel / brunette

cuddly; what’s your favorite time period?

the 1970′s for the fashion

cupcake; favorite flower/plant?

love me a good succulent

cute; what did you get on your last birthday?

well this last birthday was amidst quarantine, so I got some candles and granola (my boyfriend knows me well lol)

cutie pie; most precious item you own?

i have no idea? what an odd question? probably some stuffed animal?

cutsie; what makes you happy?

picnics, alone time, my boyfriend, my cat choosing to cuddle with me.

daisies; describe a moment when you felt free.

I really cant think of a time I've ever felt truly free. maybe when i drove myself to school earlier this year & didn't have to wait for someone to pick me up?

daydream; how do you want to be remembered?

as a light in others lives. happy, bubbly. things i currently am not

daylight; favorite album of all time?

gosh these dang music questions. well, Nickelback - All the Right Reasons was the first album i ever bought myself. then maybe Shinedown - The Sound of Madness (i cant pick one OKAY)

dear; zodiac sign?

Taurus

delightful; concerts or museums?

concerts

dimples; have you ever written a letter?

yes? this question makes me feel old, lol.

dobby; dream job?

criminologist. some way to be reducing the mass incarceration rate in the US.

doll; how do you like to dress?

comfy, v necks and leggings. As i have gotten older i have slowly wanted to be more feminine i think, because i really want some sundresses for summer lol

dovey; any paranormal/magical experiences?

one! when i was 12ish, i swear i saw a reflection of a uniformed man (like old school soldier uniform - blue blazer with gold cufflinks) behind me in the glass of my snakes tank at the time. it was weird because the only reason i even looked that way was because my snake started shaking his tail against the glass, something that corn snakes do when they are scared, but also something that in his entire life had never done unprompted ever.

dreams; do you want or have any tattoos?

want yes, have no

drizzle; do you believe in aliens?

100%. no way we are alone in this universe

euphoric; talk about someone you love.

he makes my days so much better :)

fairy; do you have a pet?

I have one little old kitty :)

fluffy; ocean or mountain?

to vacation, ocean. to live, mountain

forever; where do you feel time stop?

the secretary of state? lol

froglet; are you a good plant owner?

I've never owned a plant lol

garden; how many languages do you know?

one :(

gem; who are your favorite tumblrs?

@cy-ne-fin

giggles; what is your aesthetic of choice?

sepia photography/old books that have yellowed into sepia. or fresh greenery on white marble.

glittery; do you like anons? why/why not?

i don't really get any anymore, but as long as they are nice or just questions/venting, im down. don't be offended if i never answer though, for some reason i never get Tumblr notifications lol

glow; list the top 5 things you like about yourself

im compassionate

im empathetic (which is similar but im struggling to get to 5 lol)

im goal-oriented

im determined (once i have said goal. again, related lol)

i guess i like my lips/lip shape

heart; silk or lace?

lace

honey; coffee or tea? how do you take it?

tea. iced, black or green really, with sugar.

hugsy; do you enjoy people watching or bird watching more? why?

bird watching because it means i am probably alone and in nature as opposed to somewhere in a crowd of people. and i wont feel creepy for watching the birds lol

hunnybunch; what sounds help you sleep?

white noise, a fan running. if that's not enough, i enjoy asmr. if i am really struggling/having anxiety, i will look up sleep stories from the headspace app on youtube (life hack to not have to pay for the app lol)

jewel; what’s your favorite kind of weather?

to be outside, i enjoy just warm enough to be comfy in pants and a t-shirt (so like 65F-ish) and sunny.To be inside, i love when it is cooler (like 50F?) and raining. I love the look, sound, and smell of rain but it is usually just inconvenient to be in.

jiggly; what do you usually like to do on weekends?

well now all days are the same for me, #quarantine, so the same thing i do every day, just about nothing, lol

joy; do you laugh loudly or giggle more?

i guess laugh loudly because i am a loud person in general. i have a deep voice

kinky; do you blush easily?

i don't think so, my embarrassment turns into sweat, not blush, lmao

kisses; what romantic cliché do you wish for most?

i guess being proposed to someday? but i don't have a certain dream way of it happening, just the fact that its happening is enough for me lol. id enjoy if someone (cough Elle or also maybe Michael lol) were secretly filming and/or taking photos of it? I am not sure how you'd manage that though

kitty; what’s your favorite time of the day?

late at night when everything is quiet

ladybug; what’s your favorite artist to listen to when you’re sad?

old school three days grace (one-x album in particular)

love; what is your favorite season and why?

i always gravitate to fall for the leaves and pumpkin patches. but honestly, i think my favorite season is spring. i love the newly budding trees and flowers, the feeling of renewal, the release from the horrible Michigan winter lol, but most importantly, spring time for my whole life as of yet has always meant that school is over for the semester! as opposed to the fall when the semester starts. this is very long winded but spring final answer lol

lovey; what is your favorite flavor of macaron and ice cream?

I've never had a macaron and blue moon ice cream

magic; what are five flaws you have?

ooooo boy

im short tempered/angry too much

im unmotivated (which is confusing maybe because i said i am determined earlier. you see, once i HAVE a goal i feel determined to finish it. but i am unmotivated to create said goals, lol)

im nonconfrontational to a fault where i always put others’ feelings before my own

i let fear of change stop me from ever taking risks/ am anxious

i am stubborn and sometimes have a hard time admitting i am wrong

moonlight; do you prefer soft pastels, warm neutrals, or cool darks?

this depends - screw pastels. warm neutrals for makeup purposes, but cool darks for aesthetic or decor purposes

munchkin; what do you look for in your significant other?

someone who feels like home. I am not entirely sure how else to explain that. you just feel peace and content with them.

paddywack; how would you describe a perfect date?

something that allows you to only be with your date - so like a picnic or hike or just a walk even. my boyfriend and i liked to walk around in the fall for me to take pictures of leaves while he played pokemon go (man i miss the pokemon go summer and i have never even PLAYED it, it was just so fun to be with him while he played)

pebbles; how do you spend free time by yourself?

on youtube usually

precious; what is something valuable that you learned in your life?

The blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb. if your family is toxic for whatever reason, you do not owe them your time strictly because they are family.

pretty; do you like to cook or bake more?

cook, im not super into sweets & i want to enjoy the final product

prince; how would you describe your handwriting?

normal? like its legible but its not pretty or cute

princess; do you play any instruments? if not, are there any you wish you could play?

no:( wish i could play bass or drums

prinky; how do you relieve stress?

i don't :)

i really don't have an answer other than solving whatever is stressing me out, lol. i wish i had more mechanisms to calm me down but nothing i have tried has ever really worked

pumpkin; what is your favourite kind of fruit/vegetable?

you know these favorites questions are hard for me lol. right now, i am loving watermelon, but i also love most fruits. kiwis! vegetable, i feel like i have to say potato lol

rainbow; what was the last line of the last book you read?

lol the last thing i read had to be some academic text, so that's boring

roses; what is the most significant event in your life so far?

meeting Alex i guess, it changes my whole life path to have someone you want to do life with

smile; what is one thing that has greatly affected you?

quarantine? lol

shine; art or music?

music is art.

shimmer; do animals tend to like you?

i think so. Elle’s dog griffin loves me for some reason lol

smitten; do you collect anything?

not really

smoochies; how many pillows do you sleep with?

snuggle; what is your favourite candy?

jolly ranchers

snuggly; do you have a camera? if so, what kind?

nope

sparkle; do you wear jewelry?

nope

spooky; sunrise or sunset?

sunset

sprinkles; do you like to listen to music with headphones or no headphones?

headphones

starlight; what was your favourite show as a child?

Spongebob probably. unless we are talking like really tiny, toddler age, then Winnie the pooh

soft; describe your favourite spot in your house.

i live in a 2 bedroom apartment, there arent any spots. lol. my bed i guess

soothe; digital or vinyl?

i mean digital for convenience but vinyl for aesthetic

squeezed; who do you miss right now?

i mean the only person i really actively miss ever is Alex. @cy-ne-fin sometimes, but i have also grown used to living away from each other

sugary; what traits do you value most in friends?

loyalty, honesty, & humor

sunshine; do you prefer for things to be practical or aesthetically pleasing?

if i must pick, practical.

sweet; do you find it easy to open up?

absolutely not. i feel like a burden with my feelings even though i shouldn't

sweetie; do you like kids? if so, do you ever want to have any?

honestly not really. am on the fence still about ever having any

thimble; is there somebody you look up to? who are they?

not really

toot; what is something you find unique about yourself?

i am as average as they come man, nothing is unique about me lol

tootsie; what kind of friend are you?

like a background friend? like i am not very social, so we do not have to talk every day to be friends. so like im here if you need me, but i enjoy alone time.

treasure; what was something that made you smile today?

the way my boyfriend looks at me, & as i was working on this my cat came to cuddle, which i gave as an answer earlier before he jumped up here :)

velvet; are you an early bird or a night owl?

night owlllllll

whiffle; if you could have a magical power, what would it be?

the power to heal those who are hurting (including myself)

whimsical; do you prefer doing stuff at home or going out?

home home home home

whiskers; do you usually wear makeup?

not anymore, i did in high school/early college years. not I've stopped caring

wiggly; are you a messy or tidy person?

messy? kinda in the middle really.

wispy; do you like the place where you grew up? do you think you will live there when you get older?

my state, sure. my city in particular is definitely pretty boring

wobbly; have you ever wished upon a star?

I've never seen one :(

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asongeverlasting · 5 years

Text

A Day of Revelations - A Miraculous fanfic

ao3 ffnet

Tap. Tap. Tap. Sigh. Tap. Tap. Longer sigh.

Alya tried valiantly to stay focused on Madame Bustier's voice and ignore her jittery best friend, but after ten minutes of Marinette's tapping and squirming, she was nearing the end of her rope. At least class was almost over. She wouldn't have to wait long to get to the bottom of the fidgeting.

Just then, Marinette turned slightly toward her and whispered, "Hey Alya, would you mind hanging back for a minute when break begins? I need to tell you something."

Alya was puzzled at the tension in her voice, but chose to just nod instead of pressing further.

A long few minutes later, the bell finally rang, signaling the start of break. Alya watched her classmates file out, chattering happily with one another. Once the room was empty, she got out of her chair and leaned against the desk facing Marinette. "So what's up, girl? What did you want to tell me?"

"Well… it's really more of a show than a tell…" She stood up, turned slightly away, and whispered, almost inaudibly, "Tikki, spots on!"

There was a bright flash of pink, then silence.

Blank. Alya’s mind was completely blank as she sat there with her eyes blown wide, gaping at the superhero who stood where her best friend had been moments before.

Several more seconds passed.

Marinette fidgeted nervously. Alya hadn’t moved or blinked in almost a minute and a half, seemingly frozen in shock. “Alya? You okay in there?” Dropping her transformation, she reached out a tentative hand to tap her friend on the shoulder. A red streak in her peripheral vision told her that Tikki must have decided to hide for the time being.

Alya blinked, emerging from her daze with a little shake of her head. She opened and closed her mouth a few times before suddenly exclaiming, “Oh mY GOD! I can’t believe it! It’s been you all this time? My best friend is a superhero?”

Marinette nodded sheepishly. Alya blew out a heavy breath as she tried to wrap her mind around this new information. “Holy— so this whole time— with the spots and the red and the— it’s been you and I— I can’t process this. I’ve been so blind. How did I not know?!”

Marinette chuckled in relief, glad that the initial shock seemed to have passed. She moved to sit on the desk, bracing herself for the inevitable barrage of words.

The reporter did not disappoint, starting to pace in frustration.

“I’ve known you for four years and I’ve been chasing down your, your polka-dotted other self for just as long and I never knew? How is that possible? I’m literally your best friend! I’m supposed to know you inside and out! I mean, I knew Marinette was amazing, what with you being class president and always standing up to Chloe and stuff, so it totally makes sense that you’re Ladybug too! How did I miss that? You and Ladybug even look exactly the same— your hair and eyes don’t change at all, and we spend almost every minute of every day together exc—ohh“ Her eyes widened again as she was struck by a second realization. “Oh my gosh that’s why you were never there during akuma attacks! I thought you were just scared and didn’t want to make a big deal of it, except, y-you were there, just not by my side in the way I expected you to because you were busy fighting a crazy supervillain who… isn’t actually defeated yet, so wait, why are you telling me this now again?” Alya paused to suck some much-needed air into her lungs and wait for an answer.

“Chat Noir and I were talking last night and decided it was time to reveal ourselves to each other, since the akuma victims are getting more dangerous and we want to be prepared in case something bad happens.”

“Wait, really? You’re finally going to reveal?” Marinette nodded again. Alya squealed and flung her arms around the other girl, hopping up next to her. “Girl, that’s fantastic! Well, not the part about dangerous akumas, of course, but the rest of it. You guys are going to become an even better team after this!”

“Yeah, and he also told me that his best friend had recently discovered his identity. I figured that if Chat Noir’s best friend knows, you deserve to know too. Chat and I aren’t going to tell each other who we are until this weekend, but I hated lying to you longer than absolutely necessary, so I decided to tell you now instead of afterward.”

Alya smiled at Marinette, too touched for words, until a thought suddenly struck her and she snorted.

Marinette looked at her, puzzled. “What’s that all about?”

“Oh nothing much,” she snickered. “I was just thinking about how glad I am that you have a hard time lying to me, and then I realized that for the first time ever, your pain is actually making me happy and that’s really rather ridiculous.”

Marinette smothered a laugh of her own and pretended to be offended. “Humph. Some best friend you are. I just told you my biggest secret and all you’re doing is laughing at how much I’ve suffered these past three years.” By this point, she couldn’t hold back anymore and collapsed into giggles of her own.

When their laughter had died down, Alya nudged the other girl with her shoulder. “Are you planning to tell Nino and Adrien?”

Marinette pursed her lips thoughtfully. “I hadn’t really thought about that yet. I’ll have to check with Tikki first, but I definitely think I’d like to tell them eventually. I’m just not sure when, though, because I don’t wanna wait too long but at the same time, the more people that know, the more likely it is that Hawkmoth will find out.”

“Who’s Tikki?”

Marinette glanced over at one of the many empty chairs in the room. “You should probably come out now, Tikki.”

A tiny red… thing suddenly flew out from behind the chair and hovered in front of Alya’s face. “Hello! I’m Tikki. I’m a kwami, and I help Marinette turn into Ladybug,” it said in a high-pitched voice.

“A kwami?” Alya questioned. “Are you some kind of fairy or something? How does that work?”

Tikki answered, “I’m more like a goddess than a fairy, really. My magic pairs with Marinette’s earrings - her miraculous - to transform her into a superhero and give her the heightened abilities she needs for battle.”

“That’s so cool!” Alya exclaimed, eager to learn more. “What about—“ The bell rang, cutting off her question. Tikki dove into Marinette’s purse as the first of the other students started to trickle in.

“I can’t meet up tonight to talk about it, but I promise I’ll answer all of your questions as soon as I can,” Marinette told Alya in an apologetic tone of voice. Alya nodded understandingly, trying not to let Marinette see her disappointment at having to wait.

Alya was going mad. She’d been a distracted mess all afternoon, unable to focus on anything but the revelation Marinette had dumped on her. The more she thought about it, the more she was struck with the need to share her feelings with someone other than Marinette, who’d had four years to get used to her super-heroism. She needed to talk to someone, anyone, or she just knew she’d explode.

She glanced at the clock, counting the minutes until she could finally escape. But who to tell? She glanced around the room, dismissing each of her classmates in turn until her gaze landed on Nino. Perfect. Marinette was planning to tell him and Adrien later anyway, and he was usually good at staying calm about things. Satisfied with her choice, she returned to taking notes, finding herself a lot more capable of focusing now that her dilemma had been resolved.

The bell rang and everyone began packing up and leaving. Alya lagged behind on purpose, knowing that Nino always took an eternity to get his stuff together. When he finally finished and was heading out the door, she stopped him.

“Nino, I need to talk to you, like right now.” Without waiting for an answer, she grabbed his arm and dragged him down the hall toward an empty classroom, ignoring his confused exclamations. When they got inside, she let go and turned to face him.

“Alya, dude, you okay? What’s wrong?” Nino asked, concern evident in his voice. A distraught Alya was not a normal occurrence.

“Nino, I… I need to tell you something.” Then she hesitated. Would he even believe her? And besides, this wasn’t exactly her secret to tell. On the other hand, if she didn’t tell someone she would go insane and she knew Marinette would never ask her to keep this secret at the expense of her sanity, and Nino was going to find out eventually anyway. Mind made up, she stared at the ground as she continued. “It’s a little… hard to explain, but I need you to believe I’m telling the truth.”

“Hey.” A tentative touch on her arm made her glance up to meet Nino’s concerned gaze. “If you don’t feel ready to tell me, that’s okay, dude. I don’t want you feeling pressured to say something you aren’t ready for.”

“No, I need to get this off my chest. I’m going insane keeping it to myself.” Alya paused again, searching for the right words.

Nino’s expression softened as he searched her face, looking for a sign that he was right about what she was trying to say. “Alya, I—”

“Marinette is Ladybug!” she blurted out.

A flash of disappointment crossed his features, but it was gone before she could notice, replaced with a look of disbelief. "Is that it? That’s what had you so worked up today?” he asked, incredulous.

“What do you mean, is that it? This is huge! How can you be so calm about this?” Alya had expected him to be cool about it but this complete lack of surprise threw her for a loop.

“Dude, I figured it out ages ago. I thought you knew too and just decided not to say anything. You really had no idea?”

Alya gaped at him in shock. “I don’t believe it. I can’t believe it. You KNEW? And you didn’t tell me? I get her not telling me because she’s the actual superhero but you could have told me! I could have helped protect her! I’ve been hunting down her identity for ages! What if I accidentally uncovered her while livestreaming and she never spoke to me again? You could have been responsible for the end of the best friendship this world has ever seen!”

Nino scoffed. “Best friendship ever? Puh-lease, my bro Adrien and I are way tighter than you two. I’ve kept more secrets for him than you could ever imagine.”

“First of all, you’re totally wrong, but that’s not what's important right now!” Alya huffed in irritation. “You should have told me! Even ignoring the part where I’m your friend and we don’t keep secrets from each other, I could have helped steer attention away from her real identity. I could have helped her!” She looked almost murderous as she paced for the second time that day.

“I couldn’t tell you, Adrien swore me to secrecy! He knew I’d figured out both of their identities and he was fine with me knowing about him but he didn’t want Ladybug to panic at the thought of someone knowing who both of them are because if that got out, I’d be a target for Hawkmoth.” Alya suddenly jerked around to stare at him, but Nino didn’t notice and continued to defend himself. “Plus, neither of them knows who the other person is yet and you know how Marinette is about keeping her promises, she would have hated to think that someone else found out her identity before she had a chance to share it with her partner like they had agreed.” Nino turned hopeful eyes to the brunette, only to find her already watching him. “What?”

“What did you just say?”

“Marinette is really serious about her promises?” Nino asked, confused.

“No, the part before that.”

“What, the part about me becoming a target if anyone found out I know about Adr—,“ he realized what he had let slip and paled.

“Adrien is Chat Noir?” Alya’s voice was dangerously calm.

“N-no! That’s not what I meant! I just meant that Adrien knows I know who Chat Noir is, not that Adrien is Chat Noir, that would be ridiculous!” Nino’s eyes were wide with panic as he tried to backtrack and undo the damage he’d inadvertently caused.

Comprehension dawned on Alya’s face and she let out a short, humorless laugh. “Adrien is Chat Noir. Actual sunshine child, Adrien frickin’ Agreste is a pun-loving, mask-wearing, part-cat superhero. Of course! Because who else could it possibly be? How else could this whole mess resolve itself except with some sort of twisted romantic polygon? Adrien is Chat Noir, and Chat Noir likes—no, loves Ladybug, which means Adrien loves Ladybug and Ladybug is Marinette, who likes Adrien, who is really Chat Noir, and—“ The room started to spin. She paused, rubbing her temples with a frustrated groan. “God, I need a drink. Or some coffee, I guess, since I’m not legally old enough to drink. This is just too much to think about.”

Suddenly Nino was struck with inspiration. “How about a distraction?”

She turned to face Nino, letting her hands drop to her side as she tried to gauge what he was thinking. His expression was one she’d never seen him make before, a strange mix of amusement, admiration and — was that affection? No, it couldn’t be. She had to be imagining things. They were just friends, nothing more.

“Like what? I’d love one, but what do you have to say that could possibly be huge enough to distract me from— hey, what—mmph!”

Nino yanked her close and cut her off with a quick, hard kiss. It couldn’t have lasted more than a couple seconds, but it was enough to shock her into silence. “I love you,” he said quietly before turning around and walking away, leaving her standing there, dumbfounded, lifting one hand to touch her still-tingling lips.

Just as he was about to leave the room, he paused and tossed her a self-satisfied smirk. “How’s that for a distraction?” Then he turned and speed-walked away, knowing she wouldn’t take long to snap out of it. Sure enough, before he reached the end of the hallway, a shriek rang out.

“NINO LAHIFFE! Get your butt back here and EXPLAIN YOURSELF!”

He ran.

#Mwrites #funny story #this is my first fic please be gentle #miraculous ladybug #marinette dupain cheng #alya cesaire #nino lahiffe #adrien agreste #djwifi #it's meant to be funny i swear #love square ships if you squint #fanfic

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thecrazydragonlady · 6 years

Text

The Lovely Evening- A MLFanfiction

Synopsis: Being partners for years means that there is an underlying tone of trust that no one could ever cross over and a sense of each other that one might find a bit disturbing if they aren’t part of it. This is true especially for Ladybug and Chat Noir. When Chat senses that something is bothering his lady, he knows exactly what to do to help ease her burdens.

Author’s Notes: Happy Holidays @artisticflutter! I’m your MLBB Secret Santa. I hope your holidays are a good one and this is exactly what you hoped it would be and… I’m rambling. Enjoy!

“Chat Noir,” she grumbled, landing on one of the platforms of the Eiffel Tower with him, “this better be important or I promise that this will be the last thing you ever do.” She pulled her yo-yo off of its anchor, wrapping it back around her hips. The black cat hero swallowed hard. His lady, hero of Paris and protector of all things good, was menacing when she was angry; more so when the moonlight was glowing behind her, casting her in shadow except for her eyes that were blinding in the dimness around her. He chuckled nervously.

“I promise it’s good my Lady. Definitely not a waste of your precious time.” She crossed her arms.

“Chat….”

“No, seriously,” he stopped her, placing his baton back in its spot. His tail moved slowly behind him and like her, his eyes glowed in the darkness around them. Only his face was twisted in a brilliant smile instead of the frown that crossed hers. Chat stalked towards her and gently took her hands; she allowed this but rolled her eyes. “It’s good. Close your eyes.”

She sighed and did. It warmed his heart to know that she trusted him so implicitly to do as he asked. He squeezed her hands. The night air around them was cool. Winter was finally setting in as the Christmas holiday was upon them and he knew that this time of year was stressful for his lady because of what she did outside of the mask. Sure, they’d talked over the years. Just a bit and every now and then. It had been about a month ago, during November, that she had admitted to him that she was a crafter and fashion designer in her everyday life. Therefore, the months of November and December were the hardest months for her. She took commissions. Plus there was, of course, her own friends and family members she had to make gifts for. Since she had so many, she had started early, back in July, but that didn’t mean that she had kept up with her tasks or hadn’t pulled a couple of all-nighters or that she hadn’t been asked last minute by other people to make some kind of gift. To say her stress levels were through the roof was an understatement. She needed a break.

A break was exactly what Chat had in mind for her.

Ever since that night, she had done her best to keep quiet about everything but he could still sense it. It boiled in the pit of her being, nearly bubbling over a couple of times, but she always managed to stamp it back down and return to being the hero that Paris wanted to see. It worried him. It worried him at how good she was at pushing it down. He wasn’t dumb. He knew that a person could only do so much before the bottling became dangerous for them.

“Right this way my Lady. I promise not to let you fall!” She huffed again.

“I know you won’t Chat but could we please get on with this? I have a lot of things I need to be doing.” He chuckled and pulled her forward.

Ladybug trusted him with her whole being. After all, he was her most important partner. How many times had she trusted him with her life and he had protected her against a fall or a fatal wound? Too many for her liking in all honesty but even in her current state of frustration, she couldn’t help but immediately trust him.

They moved in silence, the only sounds were the soft taps of their feet on the beams of the tower. Ladybug couldn’t help but grow more frustrated the longer they went. Finally she asked, “Chat Noir!”

“Almost there my lady.” He squeezed her hands. “Just a few more steps.” She huffed. Just as he said this, Chat stopped her before gently grabbing her shoulders and positioning her a certain way before stepping back as he counted, “Three… two… one… open your eyes!” She blinked her eyes open and wanted to nearly faint. It was stunning! Tied up between the steel beams was a white sheet with a projector some distance away which was surrounded by so many blankets and pillows. There was even a basket waiting for them. Fairy lights were strung up around the place as well, lighting it up nicely but not so outrageous that it wouldn’t be disturbing to their movie. Chat shuffled next to her.

He coughed, “I know… I know that you’ve been stressed out cause of the holidays or whatever and I just thought that you could use a day off so I went ahead and got all this together and I know that you’re busy but I was hoping you would stay and….” She reached up, gently touching a finger to his lips. He stopped immediately. A smile was on her face. Her eyes, no longer sharp with frustration, were softened and glistening with relief that he hadn’t seen in some weeks.

“Thank you Chat. It’s wonderful. I love it.” His shoulders slumped with equal relief. It didn’t last long as he perked up again, eyes brightening and ears going erect, as he grabbed her hand and pulled her forward to the pillows.

Ladybug was extremely grateful. As the evening progressed, they decided to watch The Polar Express, an appropriate holiday movie for the occasion, and eating warmed goodies from the Dupain-Cheng bakery (which made her giggle at the realization of where he had gotten them from). Chat sang along with each song. Of course he did it in the most over the top way possible, causing her to laugh until she couldn’t breathe. When it came to the scene where the train was magically drifting on the ice, he even dared to reach into a separate cooler, flinging cold water on her exposed skin which immediately prompted a water fight between the two of them that ended with them laying across the pillows breathless and laughing like a couple of little kids. She rolled over, smiling at him.

“Thank you Chat. I really needed this.” He smiled, rolling as well to look her in the face.

“I know my lady,” he confirmed. He reached over slowly and brushed some hair off of her forehead. “I’m your partner. I’m supposed to know when you’re not doing well or when something’s wrong. I’m supposed to be there to help you when you need it the most; even if that means I help you realize that you need a night off.”

“You’re right,” she smirked, “but this is a two way street Chat.” She grabbed his hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. “I couldn’t imagine having a better partner.”

“Of course not. I’m purrfect!”

She groaned, “And way to ruin the moment.” He laughed.

“I didn’t ruin it. I just made it more meownificant!” She swatted at his shoulder.

“You’re punlieveable!” He laughed louder, wrapping his arms around his mid-section as he rolled. Ladybug sat up then. “Let’s get this cleaned up. It’s getting late.” She held out a hand for him and once he was good, wiping a tear from the corner of his eyes, he smirked and took it.

What a lovely evening it turned out to be.

Happy holidays everyone!

#mlfanfiction #ladynoir #artisticflutter #mlbb 2017 #mlbb ss 2017

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thesassybooskter · 7 years

Text

SOMEBODY LIKE YOU by Donna Alward: Review, Excerpt & Giveaway

Somebody Like You by Donna Alward Series: Darling VT #1 Published by St. Martin's Paperbacks Publication Date: February 7th 2017 Genres: Contemporary Romance Pages: 320 Source: Publisher Format: eARC Goodreads Buy Online: Amazon ♥ Barnes & Noble ♥ Kobo

I received this book for free from the Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

A kiss to last a lifetime

Aiden Gallagher was only five years old when he appeared in a photograph on the Kissing Bridge. The town of Darling, Vermont, has used Aiden’s image on the famed bridge—local legend has it that a kiss there results in everlasting love—as part of its tourism campaign. Now, twenty years later, Aiden is asked to recreate the moment with the woman he once kissed: Laurel Stone.

Recently divorced, there’s nothing Laurel wants less than to pretend happily-ever-after with Aiden. As teenagers, their romance was no fairy tale—and Laurel has never quite forgiven Aiden for breaking her heart. But now that she is back in her hometown, and keeps bumping into police officer Aiden, Laurel can’t deny that there’s still a strong flicker between her and her old flame. Could it be that the Kissing Bridge is working its magic on Laurel and Aiden—and that all true love ever needed was a second chance?

Review

Laurel Stone and Aiden Gallagher have a lot of history, some of it good, some of it not so good. First as children in a picture that has become the iconic representation of the town of Darling, Vermont; then as high school friends and later enemies. Both have also gotten a few life experiences under the belts. For Lauren, having her marriage end in a tabloid-style way and having to return home was not part of her plans, but she’s making the best of her situation and trying to deal with her emotional wounds. Aiden is a constant reminder of the heartbreak and humiliation he dealt her back in high school and her revived feelings for him are very inconvenient.

Aiden has always regretted the role he played in the fallout with Laurel, but never got a chance to apologize, but fate has given him the perfect opportunity to do so and spending time with her only increases the intensity of his feelings for her.

Okay, this book was all kinds of cute and sweet and fun, but it was also a bit emotional for me. Laurel’s struggle to deal with her sense of betrayal by her ex-husband, the blow her self-confidence and self-esteem and having to keep her head up in the face of the gossip and everything going on, got to me. Aiden was one of the few that saw through the facade she put up to the hurt beneath and really put himself out there to earn her forgiveness for the juvenile stunt he pulled.

Both Laurel and Aiden experience a lot of personal growth and I enjoyed how they supported each other. Like there wasn’t enough between Aiden and Laurel to make you tear up, the way both of them reached out to a homeless man and gave him some dignity was so heartwarming and also a clear example the kind of good and caring people they were.

The ending was straight out of a fairy-tale and just perfect for them as a couple and hit all the high notes for me – family, friendship, community, emotion and romance. This book made my heart hurt and then smile. SOMEBODY LIKE YOU is a really great start to this series and I can’t wait for the rest of the series.

Excerpt

By the time they were through, it was nine o’clock and time to open. Being a Saturday, business was brisk. Her dad dropped off the supplies and offered to stay to help cover the tagging, but with the heavy shopping traffic, Laurel decided to wait until things died down. For now the tarps covered the tags, and she’d focus on her customers. Otherwise her anger would get the best of her and that was bad for business. By six p.m., things had slowed considerably.

Laurel had been going flat out for ten hours, stopping for only fifteen minutes to run to The Purple Pig for a sandwich. Her stomach growled, her feet hurt, there was dirt beneath her nails and she really, really wanted a shower and a glass of wine—in that order. Laurel had just dragged out the hose to water the fruit trees when a half- ton truck drove into the lot and parked in an empty space.

The driver hopped out, and her heart slammed against her ribs as she immediately realized how she must look. Dirty jeans, mannish golf shirt that did nothing for her figure,

scrubby ponytail through a Ladybug Garden Center ball cap, and prob ably smudges of dirt on her face and arms. Not that she was trying to look nice for Aiden or anything, but it was him getting out of the truck, looking sexy as hell in faded jeans and a T- shirt that stretched across

his chest and shoulders.

She could pretend she hadn’t seen him. Resolutely she turned on the hose and started watering the apple trees.

“Hey, Laurel,” he called out, and that erased any hope of avoiding him.

She turned off the hose and faced him. “Aiden. What brings you by? Looking for a shrub or tree or something?”

Keep it businesslike, she reminded herself. The last thing she needed was for him to know that he had the ability to fluster her.

“I heard about what happened.”

Of course he had.

“Don’t even. I’m still pissed.”

“I know it’s not what you needed. Did Crystal tell you that you weren’t the only one hit?”

Crystal must be the offi cer from this morning. “She did.”

“Well, that must make you feel better.”

She stared at him. “Better? Seriously? Since I opened a month ago, I’ve had to have the driveway re- graded, I’ve had to replace shrubs that were stolen from out front, deal

with a break-in and vandalism, and now tagging. Trust me, Aiden, the only thing that would feel better is if you actually did your job and found out who was doing this.”

She turned the hose back on.

He waited. He waited a long time. Several seconds, maybe thirty. Which was really not that long at all but definitely felt that way. She was watering the third tree when he sighed. “ You’re upset.”

“No shit, Sherlock.”

He met her gaze, and his eyes were soft, even though she’d basically just accused him of not doing his job. The understanding she saw there made her stomach churn. She didn’t want to lash out, but that was what she did when she was hurt. Angry.

Stopping by was kind and thoughtful. She kept trying to make him out to be a bad guy, and he kept being nice. It definitely made it difficult for her to hate him. Particularly since her biochemistry betrayed her at every turn. Even now, when she was utterly preoccupied with the day’s events, she seemed to notice everything. His hair, his eyes, the breadth of his chest, the armband tattoo that looked like some sort of Celtic braid, peeking just below the hem of his T- shirt sleeve. The shape of his lips . . .

He muttered something that was as creative a curse as she’d ever heard, and sounded suspiciously Irish. She couldn’t help but laugh, and tried to clamp her lips shut again. But not before he saw and heard, and his eyes took on an impish gleam.

“ You’re not fine. You’re tired and upset and rightfully so. You’re also just as stubborn as you always were.” He put his hands on his hips. “I take it you’re not adverse to help, just help from me in particular.”

Her face heated. Dammit.

“Maybe this could be my penance,” he suggested, giving her a quick grin. And she wished she could take him seriously, but he always seemed to be teasing. It was one of the things she’d really liked about him and hated at the same time. Particularly now, when she wanted to be, if not mad, completely unaffected. And she wasn’t. He was trying to cajole her out of her mood and it was working.

“It’s Saturday night. Don’t you have a hot date or something?” She turned on the hose again. Focused on the large plastic pot holding a cherry tree.

“Nope. Free as a bird.”

Dammit again.

“Come on, Laurel. Peace offering. Manual labor for you to stop hating me.”

She glanced over at him. “Why do you care so much?”

He was quiet for a moment, and to her surprise the teasing expression left his face. After a while he answered, his voice a little lower. “I don’t know why I care what people think so much. I always have. I don’t like anyone to be mad at me. Maybe it has something with being one of the younger siblings in the family. I don’t know. I just know that I don’t like it that you’re still so angry.” His intense blue gaze locked with hers. “It’s starting to become a personal mission to win you over. To atone for past sins.”

“Good luck,” she said dryly, more touched than she wanted to admit.

His boyish grin was back. “Come on, Laurel. You know you can’t hold out forever. You think I’m hot.” He had the audacity to wink at her.

She rolled her eyes.

“You do. You have a thing for gingers. And you have to admit, I grew up kinda good.” His hands were still on his hips and he tensed his muscles so that his shoulders and chest tightened beneath the thin T- shirt.

“I think you’re a bit taken with yourself, to be honest,” she replied. And tried not to smile. She didn’t want to be charmed, but he was incorrigible.

“Laurel.”

Damn, his voice was all silky- smooth now. “Yes, Mr. Narcissist?”

“You know damn well you want to hate me and you can’t. Besides, I saw your face just now. Maybe if I took off my shirt . . .”

“Would you like to go somewhere private to be with yourself?” she asked, biting the inside of her lip. She shouldn’t be enjoying this so much. And she wouldn’t be, if she thought he was serious. But he was teasing her.

Like he used to do when they were friends. And today . . . she swallowed against a ball of emotion. Today she needed a friend, and all she’d had were well- meaning customers.

She looked over at him. “Jeez, Aiden. You’re looking a little flushed. I think you could stand to cool off.” And before he could reply, she flicked her wrist and aimed the spray of the hose right at the center of his chest.

The abrupt shock on his face was gratifi cation enough, but then he grinned and reached to take away the hose. She danced away, still spraying him, admiring how the shirt now clung to his skin and the little droplets lit up his face and hair. A laugh bubbled up through her chest and out her mouth as she darted around the trees, dragging the hose with her. But there were too many pots and not enough room to maneuver and within seconds he caught her, wrapped one strong arm around her and wrenched the hose away with the other, spraying her in the process.

Cold water dripped from her nose, down her neck, over her bare arms. Aiden held her close against his body, close enough she could feel the hardness of his muscles, and thrilled at it. Their breaths came fast, their chests rising and falling with both laughter and the exertion of the struggle over the hose. But it was the way he was looking down at her right now that made her feel as if the lack of air was strangling her lungs. All it would take was the tiniest move and he’d be kissing her. Her gaze dropped to his lips— he’d always had fine lips— and she swallowed, nervous and scared at her reaction and turned on as hell.

She looked up, which was a mistake. Because he was staring at her lips. And his arm tightened just a little bit at the hollow of her back. Oh God . . .

A car horn honked and Laurel jumped back. He let her go, but the gravity of the moment remained.

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About Donna Alward

While bestselling author Donna Alward was busy studying Austen, Eliot and Shakespeare, she was also losing herself in the breathtaking stories created by romance novelists like LaVyrle Spencer, Judith McNaught, and Nora Roberts. Several years after completing her degree she decided to write a romance of her own and it was true love!

Five years and ten manuscripts later she sold her first book and launched a new career. While her heartwarming stories of love, hope, and homecoming have been translated into several languages, hit bestseller lists and won awards, her very favorite thing is when she hears from happy readers!

Donna lives on Canada’s east coast with her family which includes a husband, a couple of kids, a senior dog and two crazy cats. When she’s not writing she enjoys reading (of course!), knitting, gardening, cooking…and is a Masterpiece Theater addict.

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SOMEBODY LIKE YOU by Donna Alward: Review, Excerpt & Giveaway was originally published on The Sassy Bookster

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