Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

summary : When it's Callum's birthday, Rayla tries to give him a gift. Chat Noir and Ladybug must fight off the Crowmaster, a supervillain with the power to control crows to do his bidding.

quote : "Underneath them on a roof was a supervillain who looked like he had fused a bird and a pile of garbage together and called it a costume."

---

Rayla fumbled with the box in her hands. It was covered with navy blue wrapping paper and had a red ribbon tied around it. She had wrapped the gift that morning while she was in a rush to be early, which had been a struggle for her considering she was late all the time.

But not today! She was determined to be early enough to catch Callum before he walked into the building and met up with Claudia. It was Callum's fifteenth birthday. From the first time he had arrived at school, Rayla had seen him with his nose in his sketchbook, so she had decided to get him a set of colors to use. She was a bit apprehensive to give him the gift, after all, she was known as the scary girl with strange pigmentation under his eyes and bumps on her head and don't even get her started on her pointier ears. It wasn't her fault she had been born with disfigurement! But nevertheless, she didn't want him to be disgusted by her or anything, because unfortunately for her, he had stolen her heart.

She had actually disliked him at first; he was friends with Claudia, and she had always been a bitch to Rayla. Usually it was just verbal insults which Rayla could deal with, but one day she went further and put gum on her seat. When Rayla walked in, she had seen Callum messing with it, and she had interpreted that as him sticking it on her seat. The misunderstanding had been cleared up the next day, however.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a certain bleach-blonde haired boy, her best friend in fact, walking over to her. Soren and her had been friends for ages; they met on the school's fencing team and had been companions ever since. He could be a bit of a dumbass, though. He noticed her hiding along the stairs. "Rayla?" He questioned loudly, negating her need to hide in the first place. "What are you doing here?"

Stricken by panic, she peered over the rail of the stairs at Callum, who hadn't seemed to hear Soren practically screaming. Luck was on her side that day it seemed. Letting out a sigh of relief, she turned back to Soren, who was opening his big mouth to yell something else. She yanked him down to crouch in the grass with her.

"Wha--"

She covered his mouth with her hand. "Shh!" 

His eyes drifted to the box tucked carefully under her arm. Voice still muffled, he pointed to it and asked, "What's that?"

She felt her face get warm, and she hoped it wasn't noticeable. She meekly replied, "It's for Callum, since it's his birthday today."

"Oh yeah!" Soren exclaimed, snapping his fingers. He cocked his head to the side. "Why haven't you given it to him?"

She gazed over at Callum, who was waving to his driver with a smile. He was so soft and kind and compassionate, and she was so clumsy and awkward and dumb. She huffed. "What if he doesn't like it? What if I go over and give it to him and he... I don't know, steps on it or something?" She balanced the gift on her leg and put her hands on her cheeks. "What if I trip over my own two feet and drop it and then it breaks? What if Claudia comes over and rips it up in front of him? What if--"

Soren waved a finger in her face. "First off, stop with all the what-ifs. Second of all, Claudia wouldn't do that."

"She might!" Rayla protested. "You know she doesn't like me."

He crossed his arms. "I know my sister; she's not that bad. And don't interrupt me when I have actual thought for once."

She giggled at that. "Alright, go on."

Soren puffed his chest out. "You have to have confidence, my friend!" He dramatically put his hands on his hips and let the wind tousle his hair. Then he dropped the pose and peaked at the box. "What did you get him, anyways?"

She grabbed the box and held it tight to her chest, almost shamefully. "It's lame," she grumbled.

"What is it?"

"A set of colors," she mumbled, looking down. She was sure he would laugh and make fun of her for getting him such a stupid present, but instead, Soren put his hand on her shoulder and smiled brightly at her.

"He'll love it! You have no idea how often I've had to listen to him rant about how he doesn't have any colors," he assured. "Now, go give him the gift before he walks into school. He's almost inside."

"What?!" Rayla exclaimed, whipping her head around. Sure enough, while she and Soren were talking, Callum had ascended up almost all of the stairs. She was going to lose her chance!

She grit her teeth. She had dealt with unfair referees in fencing matches, teasing from kids since Kindergarten, Runaan, her adoptive father's, sometimes horrendous training, and Claudia's bitching for years. She could handle potential embarrassment in front of the boy she liked. The adorable, artsy, quiet boy that she really didn't want to make a fool of herself in front of because then he would hate her and they would never be friends or speak, much less date, and oh god oh god--

Making an impulsive decision, she dashed out from her hiding place and ran up the stairs, taking them two at a time. She caught up with Callum fairly quickly, seeing as how he wasn't in a rush or anything. He turned to her and waved shyly. 

"Hi, Rayla," Callum greeted, and the soft way he said her name made her melt inside. Not trusting her voice, she held the gift out in front of his face with no explanation, squeezed her eyes shut, and waited for rejection.

When none came because Callum hadn't said anything, she slowly opened one eye. He was gazing at the gift like it was an amazing piece of art, or a trophy, or something he was completely mesmerized by. "Oh, Rayla, you didn't have to do this."

"I-- uh," she stuttered, unsure of how to reply. She simply shoved the gift more in his face. Delicately, he lifted his arms to take the gift from her, like it was a fragile piece of clay and something that needed to be protected. 

But then...

"Hey, Cal!"

A girl with long, wavy black hair with purple at the tips and a pencil skirt paired with an off-shoulder top Rayla was almost sure was against the dresscode and a prissy pep in her step bounded over to Callum. She swung her arm around his shoulders and exclaimed, "Happy birthday!"

"Thanks, Claudia," Callum quietly replied. He was still looking at the box in Rayla's outstretched hands.

Claudia seemed to just notice she was there, and she scrunched her nose at her. When she noticed the gift, she smiled at Rayla, but it wasn't friendly; it was patronizing. While making direct eye contact with her, she said, "Come on, Callum. If we don't hurry in, we'll be late."

Callum's eyes drooped, like he was expecting that he wouldn't be able to get her present, which she would still gladly find a way to give to him. "But--"

She grabbed Callum's arm and started dragging him away. "Let's go!"

Callum turned his head and gazed back at her, or rather, her present, longingly. His look tugged at her heart strings; he looked like a kicked puppy, and she wanted to hug it all away. The pair disappeared into the school building.

Rayla sighed. She hadn't been expecting things to go her way anyways; luck only seemed to be on her side when she wasn't a civilian. It was still disappointing, however. She had been even more excited for Callum to receive her gift when Soren mentioned how badly he wanted colors. As for Claudia, she wasn't sure why she was so dead set on making her school years hell, but in the end, she was just another cliche bully. Rayla didn't care. 

Totally.

Soren wandered over. "That could have gone better."

"Thanks Captain Obvious."

"Well hey," Soren said, clapping her on the back, "at least you tried. That's what matters, right?"

She felt a smile creep onto her face. Soren always managed to look on the bright side and remain positive. She suppose that was one of the reasons they made such good friends; they both did their best to stay positive in stressful situations, even though for her, it was mainly sarcastic.

"Sorry about Claudia. She's not usually so..." he trailed off, waving his hands vaguely in front of him. 

She waved him off. "Nah, don't apologize for her." She knocked into his shoulder. "You're Soren, not Claudia."

"Even though we share a braincell?"

Rayla laughed. "Yes, even though you share a brain cell."

Mood successfully lightened, Soren smiled at her. She smiled back. "I can just give it to him later."

"That's the spirit!" Soren whooped, pumping his fist into the air.

Their joy was ruined, however, when from outside the building, the two heard the shrill ring of the late bell. They shared a quick glance, and then they sprinted into the building.

*~*

Ruben was absolutely giddy that morning as he walked into the classroom and took his seat. He had recently been promoted to 'Crowmaster' at his job, and as a gift, his boss, the Crowlord, had given him a set of colored stamps. And no, they weren't the cheap, plastic kind. They were fancy and metal and proper stamps he could actually use in his job and outside of it if he chose. 

He sat in the aisle seat of the middle row, and next to him was his good friend, Marcos. Marcos was confident and sporty, and Ruben was shy and awkward, but they shared a sort of edgy and emo-ness, and they bonded over things like Panic! At The Disco and piercings. He found that they liked to stamp each other's hands like little kids.

Marcos admired the green stamp on the back of his hand. Ruben had his own blue stamp on his wrist. The rest of the stamps rested in a box that he kept on the edge of the table.

Other students began to file into the classroom, like the pair Callum and Claudia. Ruben wasn't sure why Callum hung around her; she was mean and acted stuck-up, but from what Ruben had seen, Callum wasn't like her at all. They arrived a couple minutes before the bell, which was fairly good timing, and Callum took his seat in the front row while Claudia headed up to the back. As she walked past his desk, her arm brushed against the array of stamps, and Ruben watched in horror as the box slid off the edge and the stamps scattered onto the ground.

Claudia turned her head and took a surprised step back when she heard the clanging, and Ruben rushed to scoop his stamps up while Marcos picked up the box. He opened the lid of the red stamp and his stomach dropped. The actual ink design of the stamp was broken. He checked the green one and found it in the same condition. He had worked so hard for his promotion, and the reward he had earned had shattered in front of his eyes in a second. 

"I'm sorry," Claudia half-heartedly apologized. In his frustration, he kind of wanted to punch her in the face. "Why do you have stamps anyways?"

His anger melted away and was replaced by sadness. A lump formed in his throat. "They were a gift," he mumbled, trying not to cry. As he continued to look around, he couldn't find the blue stamp anywhere.

Claudia hummed in acknowledgment and didn't comment anything else. Ruben stood and returned to his desk. In front of him, Callum twisted around in his seat, and Ruben's day brightened just a tad as he held out the missing blue stamp in his hand. "I managed to catch this one," he said shyly, not making eye contact and squirming in his seat.

"Thank you," Ruben replied, and he took the only surviving stamp from Callum's hand. He collected all of the colorful stamps and arranged them back into the box.

"I'm gonna go put these back into my locker," Ruben whispered to Marcos, who looked at him, concerned. Ruben bitterly glanced back at Claudia, who had taken her seat and seemed to have already forgotten about the ordeal. He dashed down the steps and out the door.

*~*

The room was dark and cold and deprived of sunlight. It wasn't a very happy place, but that fit the purpose of the room. Negative emotions were accepted and used there. 

For the first time that week, light flittered throughout the room. A mysterious figure hummed as he gazed through the glowing mirror. Cream colored worms wiggled around on the floor and walls and ceiling, covering every inch of the lair. The person grabbed one of the squirming creatures and placed it in his palm.

"A young worker who's reward was broken," he monologued, peering at the worm in his hand. "Those aren't the strongest negative emotions, but I will make do."

He covered the worm with his other hand, and purple negative energy flowed through his palms. He let it simmer for a moment before uncovering the worm, who's color had changed from cream to plum. He set it on the rim of the mirror and watched as it crawled through the glass and out into the world.

"Crawl away my little akuma, and evilize him!"

Now, he waits.

*~*

The akuma found Ruben in the locker room. He didn't know it was there; no one ever did. By the time he was akumatized, it was too late.

"Crowmaster, I am Hawkmoth," the voice spoke, voice like rich chocolate. "I will give you the power to get revenge on the one who destroyed your gift, and in return, you must get me Ladybug and Chat Noir's miraculous."

Crowmaster nodded. "Yes, Hawkmoth."

*~*

When a barrage of crows flew into the window, Rayla knew something was up.

Class had been going on for not even an hour, not even five minutes, and someone had already been akumatized. As much as she could empathize with the victim, after all, it wasn't their fault, the frequent attacks had began to get boring and repetitive, and they lasted far too long and she had begun to miss more and more class because of them. She was beginning to believe Hawkmoth purposely chose school hours to akumatize people.

She managed to sneak away from the class under the excuse of checking for other students, but instead, she headed for the girl's bathroom. It wasn't that she didn't care about the other students, she did, but she could check up on them later as Ladybug.

Once she locked herself into a disgusting stall, a pinkish-red creature flew out of her vest pocket. She was her kwami, Tikki. Rayla had sewn in a special pocket inside her vest for her to reside in, as they never knew when an attack would occur. Plus, it was easier than having to wear the same two pairs of pants because only some women's clothes have pockets big enough for Tikki to hide in.

The kwami sounded urgent as she said, "I think the Crowmaster is turning civilians into crows he can control. You must hurry!"

She didn't question how Tikki knew any of that; it was a sixth sense thing. Rayla nodded seriously. "Tikki, spots on!"

A familiar hum of energy circled around her, changing her from head to toe from Rayla to Ladybug. When she emerged, she was clad in a red suit with black dots spotted all over and a mask to match. Her white hair had been put into pigtails, where one was tied with a red ribbon, and one had a black ribbon. Two braids ran down the side of her hair, and the unusual bumps on her head had been transformed to look like horns and her pigmentation to markings. A yo-yo rested by her side. Tikki had been absorbed into her earrings.

She hustled out of the bathroom, out of the school, and out onto the streets. In the sky, she saw a giant sphere of crows that had squished together, and more were joining by the minute. Underneath them on a roof was a supervillain who looked like he had fused a bird and a pile of garbage together and called it a costume.

She looped her yo-yo string around her hand and then let it fly. She trusted that her aim was true, it always had been, and it wrapped around a lightning rod and hauled her up.

That was the life she loved. As Rayla, she was clumsy and shy and dumb, but as Ladybug, she could be confident and sarcastic and powerful while still being kind. She didn't see Ladybug as an alternate persona of hers, more like her being able to show a different side of herself. Maybe Ladybug was her true self. As Ladybug, she could be free and fly through the skies as wind whistled in her ears and fight crime and help people. As Ladybug, she didn't have to worry about school or Claudia or Callum, and she could just be. 

That lasted for a moment.

She landed on a roof near the trash-bird, and her responsibilities came flooding back. The downside of being Ladybug was that there was the weight of all of Xadia on her shoulders. She had to save everyone and be a good example and make all the right decisions when half the time she had no idea what she was doing and was winging it and hoping nobody noticed. She supposed that was why she had a partner.

She threw her yo-yo, wrapped it around his legs, and pulled. He toppled over, making an embarrassing squawking sound. The bird-cult above them broke structure for a moment. It was surprising easy; maybe she wouldn't even need Chat Noir's help that day.

That's what she thought until the trash-bird pointed at her and shouted, "Crows, attack!"

He sicked the birds on her! If she was being honest, she was a little offended, though she wasn't sure why. She scrambled away a bit ungracefully though she hoped no one could tell, and she jumped across rooftops to get away, but it wasn't working. The crows reached out to poke her, and to be frank, it was more annoying than harmful. The trash-bird himself emerged from the crowd, seemingly recovered, and he sharpened his claws and snarled at her. She wasn't that intimidated; his costume kinda ruined it for her. But he swiped out to hit her and her reflexes didn't want to work apparently, but she was pulled out of the way through a window.

Her savior threw her up into the room, which was a rude move but at least she was away from the crows. He sealed the window shut, and she heard crows bang into the glass repeatedly, though it luckily didn't seem to be shattering yet. Luck was on her side as Ladybug.

Chat Noir turned back towards her. She smiled at him as a thank you for saving her. She had gotten cocky, and they needed to focus.

Her partner bowed playfully. "Hello M'lady!" he greeted. He was clad in a plain black suit with a collar that had a red bell attached to it that clinked when he moved. He had a belt that was supposed to represent a tail and little black cat ears peeking out over his brown locks. 

She dusted off her clothes even though there was no need to. Not bothering to dance around the point, she stated, "He's turning people into crows."

"That's a pretty dumb superpower," Chat Noir commented, looking back at the crows. The window was still holding up okay, but the Crowmaster would be coming after them soon, and she was worried he would be able to break through it.

"We should get moving," she said, and without another word, she slingshot herself out the window on the other side. Chat Noir followed, traveling by extending his baton. They climbed onto a roof of the building they were in and faced a group of crows and an angry Crowmaster.

"Crows, attack!" yelled the Crowmaster.

Chat Noir gazed at him innocently as the swarm of crows flew towards them. "Isn't this attempted murder?"

Ladybug sighed. "I can't tell whether you're being serious or making a bird pun." She quickly changed gears and smiled, however. "Toucan play at that game."

Chat Noir placed a hand on his heart and dramatically gasped. "Please sparrow me the bird puns."

"So now your a mocking bird?"

"Don't make me fly off the handle."

"Look out!" She shouted. For a second, she had forgotten about the murderous crows that were speedily approaching. Chat Noir swiped at them with his baton, and they parted around the two. They came back quickly though, and Ladybug tried to swat them away with her yo-yo as Chat Noir used his baton to knock them aside. It didn't do much good, as the birds poked and prodded at her hair and her suit and her earrings, which she was extra careful to protect.

Eventually, she grew tired of playing bird-keeper, and she threw her yo-yo into the air and chanted, "Lucky Charm!" A bag of seeds was dropped into her hands. Oh well, she had been given much stranger before. At least the seeds were pretty self explanatory.

The birds flocked from Chat Noir to her when the seeds were placed in her hands. "Chat Noir, distract trash-bird will you? Try to find the akuma, I think it's in his hand."

"It's Crowmaster!" Trash-bird protested, but she didn't really care. She threw her yo-yo and vaulted away, and the crows chased after her. Her partner stayed behind to occupy the Crowmaster. She flew throughout Xadia, a swarm of crows hot on her heels. She found her target soon enough, an open grassy plain where she could drop off the seeds and return to her partner. She sprinkled the seeds around the field and one by one the crows stopped chasing her in favor of eating. Once the bag was empty, she found a trash can to chuck it in because save the environment, and she made her way back to Chat Noir and the trash-bird.

They were locked in combat, but it was obvious that Chat Noir had the upper hand and more training. The Crowmaster refused to open his right fist, and she bet that the akumatized object was inside. Trusting that Chat Noir could handle it, she stood back and let him take him on.

Chat Noir got him pinned in a way that left his arm undefended, and she calmly strode over, pried his fist open with no effort even though he was struggling against her because she was Ladybug and could do what she wanted, and took a blue chess-piece looking thing out of it. She snapped it in half and discovered it was actually a stamp. Out of the pieces crawled a purple worm.

Chat Noir released the Crowmaster, who was transforming back into his civilian self. She spun her yo-yo in a circle, and caught the akuma within her yo-yo. "It's time to de-evilize!"

The yo-yo worked its magic, and when she clicked it open, a cream colored worm slunk out of it. She held it close to the ground so the worm could crawl away. Since the bag of seeds had been thrown away, she tossed her yo-yo up into the air and shouted, "Miraculous Ladybug!"

Her magic cure went to work, and she watched as the people in the field returned to normal people. Other than that, there wasn't much damage, so her cure swiftly cleaned everything up in less than ten seconds.

Chat Noir held out a closed fist, and she bumped hers against it. In unison, they said, "Pound it!"

The Crowmaster, or now, Ruben, rubbed his head and looked around. "Um,,, hi?"

She knelt in front of him. "I'm sorry about what happened to your gift."

Ruben clenched the stamp in his hand a little tighter, as if he just noticed it was there. "Oh... it's okay. I guess it's the promotion that really matters, not the present that came with it."

"Well, I'm glad that's resolved," Chat Noir said, striding over towards them. "I didn't even have to use my Cataclysm."

"Yeah," she agreed, "it was surprising easy today."

Chat Noir casually shrugged. "Oh well, it'll probably get worse from here on out."

She raised an eyebrow. Sometimes she wondered what his life must've been like for him to speak so nonchalantly about things getting worse. She worried about him sometimes.

Her earrings beeped. She held out a hand to Ruben, who took it and she pulled him to his feet. "I have to get back." She turned and threw her yo-yo. Chat Noir waved as she swung away, and she grinned back at him.

He was right, though. Things were easy that day. Too easy. And it was certainly going to get a lot harder from there on out.

*~*

Callum slunk back into his bedroom through the window. He had stayed out for a while after school as Chat Noir just to enjoy Xadia without the pressure of his father, Aaravos', job and reputation. That wasn't an unusual act; ever since he gained his powers, he'd been using them more and more often to escape from his house. That combined with the events of that day and the fight with Ladybug, he was feeling confident but also thoroughly exhausted. But there were two things he still had to do that night. 

He left the lights off as he wandered over to the door that connected his and his little brother, Ezran's, bedrooms. He knocked on it lightly. No response. Oh well. It was pretty late out, and it was his own fault for staying out so long. He would have to celebrate alone.

Out of a cupboard, he took a small cupcake with chocolate frosting and vanilla cake. He and Ezran had secretly made it the same day they were making jelly tarts while Aaravos was out on business with his assistant, Viren. It was a few days old, but it was still better than nothing. He would take a stale cupcake over silence at the dinner table that Aaravos once again didn't show up at.

It was already on a plate and had a candle, so all Callum needed to do was light it with the lighter he had stolen the previous night for that specific purpose. It took a few tries to get a flame, but once he had one, he lit the candle and set the lighter down. He placed the plate on his bedroom floor, and he sat down next to it, knees drawn up to his chest.

"Happy birthday to me," he quietly sang, "happy birthday to me. Happy birthday to me, happy birthday to me."

He held the plate up in one hand, staring at the flame for a bit before he blew it out. The smell of smoke wafted through the room, but he didn't care enough to open the window. Being as quiet as possible, he tore off the wrapper and began to eat the cupcake.

He sighed. He knew that normal kids would be partying with friends or celebrating with family, but Callum didn't have enough friends to have a party with, nor did he have any family other than Ezran to celebrate with. Aaravos was never around, and when he was, he rarely spoke to Callum. Viren scared him, and his aunt, Amaya, lived too far away. So he sat alone on the carpet of his bedroom in the pitch black of night silently chewing a stale cupcake. What a great way to spend his fifteenth birthday.

But there was one thing to be happy about. He had hidden it away under his bed as soon as he'd gotten home. He tucked the plate and wrapper and lighter back into the cupboard to throw away and clean up the next day, and he crawled on the ground and reached under his bed and grabbed the gift beneath it.

He couldn't see the colors in the dark, but he knew that the wrapping paper was navy and the bow was red. He knew that it had been wrapped with special care just for him, and it made his heart swell just looking at it. Ezran's sweet message of happy birthday and his hug and Claudia's curt but meaningful wish in the morning couldn't compare to how Rayla had left the box by his locker for him to find in the afternoon before he returned to his house.

He wouldn't say him and Rayla were close, but he wouldn't say they didn't know each other either. If he had to label their relationship, he would call them acquaintances, or distant friends. That was why he hadn't been expecting her to go out of her way to get him a gift; he hadn't been expecting anyone to even remember his birthday, much less get him anything. Ezran was too young to purchase something on his own and Aaravos would never allow him to get something that didn't fulfill a specific purpose, even though it would've been a present. He didn't want Claudia or Soren to get him anything either, and he was sure if Viren found out, they wouldn't hear the end of it. So for Rayla to bound up the stairs that morning and hold out a gift for him, he had been stunned in awe. 

Carefully, he undid the bow and slid it off the box. He was a bit worried that the paper would make too much noise, so he muffled it by unwrapping it under his bedsheets. Unfortunately, he couldn't see what she had gotten him in the dim lighting, and he couldn't turn the lights on in case someone saw it.

Dejectedly, he balled up the paper and began to slide the box back under the bed to deal with in the morning until he remembered that he had a lighter in a cupboard. He stood up and made his way over, excitement almost making him forget to be quiet. He retrieved the lighter and bounded back over to the box. He tried to light a flame once, but it died out. Again he tried, but it didn't work. He growled faintly, and tried a third time. The third time must've been the charm, because he got a flame. He held it close enough to the uncovered box the read the letters but not close enough to potentially catch it on fire.

He read what was on the box, and a smile crept onto his face and his heart squeezed with appreciation. She had gotten him a set of colors. He had been begging for colors for months since he was tired of only having pencil or pen to draw with. How had she managed to not only get him a gift, but get him a gift he really wanted?

He slid the box back under his bed and flicked the fire out. He doubted he would be able to fall asleep, as he was too happy about his new colors. He hid the lighter back with the plate, and curled up in his bed and lay there, staring at the stars.

Even though he had celebrated it by himself, for the first time since moving to Xadia, Callum didn't feel so alone.

Chapter Text

Rayla didn't mean to peek at Callum's sketchbook. Honestly, she didn't!

As much as she wished he would openly share his drawings, she could respect his privacy. It's not like she would open his sketchbook or anything while he wasn't looking! But they were sat next to each other in Lujanne's class, and he was doodling right next to her, and she side-eyed his art on accident. On accident!

For as often as Callum had his sketchbook out, and as often as they sat next to each other, she had never seen much of his art. He usually covered the pages from view with his arm, which she thought was stupid because his art was probably amazing. She was never very artsy, and she lacked the patience to understand art, but she could appreciate a good sketch or two, especially when it was Callum doing the sketching. She could only wonder what kind of style he had. Was it realistic or cartoonish? Anime-ish or more normal? 

Well, she did get her answer, even though she only got a glance at the page. He used a lot of random lines, like circles in the arms and lines in the head and legs. She wasn't sure what they were for, but go off, she guessed. He drew the actual ligaments around the lines. From the looks of it, he was far from finished.

She tried her best not to look again. He kept his sketchbook hidden for a reason, and she did her best not to pry. But curiosity overwhelmed her and she attempted to look inconspicuous as she peered over once more.

This time, she could only see the torso up. She guessed he was drawing a girl who had hair that went a little bit past her shoulders, though it was waving in the "wind," so it was hard to tell. She was standing in a sort of epic pose, with her chest puffed out and her eyes looking to the side. He had most of her face finished, and she squinted confused because there were random lines under her eyes and bumps on her head, and oh god he was drawing her!

At least, she hoped he was drawing her. But no one else she knew had defining marks on their cheeks and two lumps on their head like she did. 

Against her will, excitement flooded through her. She knew that he most likely wasn't drawing her, and she was getting her hopes up on a quick, second long glance, and she would probably be crushed later, but the warmth in her heart squashed those worries down. He could be drawing her. Her! Maybe, just maybe, she had a chance.

She was planning on telling Soren about it at lunch. He would probably open his big mouth and say something to Callum or worse, Claudia, but the story bubbled in her throat and she needed to tell somebody. When the bell rang for lunch, she all but dashed out of the classroom although there was no reason to. She got to their typical lunch spot first. The table wasn't secluded or anything, but they always sat in the same corner of it. Sometimes, Soren brought over his friends Marcos and Corvus, and the four of them bonded over sports, more specifically, fencing. But that day, it was just her and Soren.

"Hey, so can I--"

"I have a--"

They both paused at the same time. It seemed they both had stories to tell.

"Oh you can go first--"

"So what were you saying--"

They paused again and looked at each other. Rayla was first to say, "So, what's up?"

As much as she wanted to tell her story, she was even more intrigued by what Soren had to say. It wasn't everyday that something interesting happened to the both of them, at least, not anything she could share, anyways. If she could tell him about her adventures as Ladybug, she'd never run out of things to talk about.

Soren plunked onto the seat across from her. "You know how Corvus and I have been friends for ages?"

She hummed, getting out her lunch she had brought into school. After a fiasco a few years ago where six kids all got sick on the same day, she stopped trusting school provided lunches.

"Well, I've liked him for a while, and now that we're in high school..." he trailed off, resting his chin on his palm and squishing his cheek.

She popped a pretzel into her mouth. "I for one think you should just do it."

"Says the one who can't even talk to her crush."

Embarrassment rose to her cheeks, and she huffed and pouted. "Then why did you ask?"

Soren pointed his finger at her. "Good point."

She offered him a pretzel from the bag, and he took it. Standing up, he put his hands on his fists and declared, "I'm gonna do it!"

"Yeah!"

"I'm gonna do it!"

"Yeah!"

"I'm gonna--"

"Soren, you haven't moved."

He stopped for a second, and his hand shot out and grabbed a handful of pretzels. He shoved them into his mouth and marched away towards where Corvus was sitting. Rayla watched him go, part of her ecstatic that he was finally doing it, the other part of her angry that he stole so much of her food.

***

Soren approached Corvus. He was a little nervous, okay, very nervous, but he tried to act chill and confident as he asked Corvus to go into the hallway with him. He went over what he was going to say in his mind. He would start by talking about how they've been friends for so long, and then he'd admit his feelings, and then happily ever after. Right? Right?

Ugh, he was acting like a middle school girl. He needed to man up and just ask! It would be fine, and even if Corvus rejected him, they could still be friends? Right? Right?

"What's up?" Corvus questioned as they stepped into the hallway.

Soren took a deep breath. Going through the speech one more time in his head, he said, "Ilikeyouwillyougooutwithme?"

Good going, Soren. That's exactly what he wanted to say. He pat himself on the back in his head. Then slapped himself in the face. 

He was an idiot.

Luckily, Corvus laughed. He leaned against the wall casually, and Soren felt the urge to one-up him somehow. He crossed his arms and bent his knee, trying to look chill.

"If I'm not mistaken, it sounds like you're trying to ask me on a date," Corvus said, the smirk on his face evident in his tone.

"Yeah, uh, bro, that's exactly what I'm doing," Soren replied, keeping his "totally nonchalant" air.

Corvus chuckled. "I don't think you can ask me on a date and then call me bro."

Soren stuck his nose up in the air. "Who says I can't?"

"I think it's in the bro-code."

"Well, who came up with that?"

"It's an unspoken rule."

He threw his arms into the air. "Just answer the question!"

Corvus smiled. "Sure."

Relief flooded through him, as well as a seed of doubt. "Really? You're not joking, right?"

"Why would I joke about that?" Corvus asked.

Soren breathed a sigh of ease. "Whew, I was worried there for a second."

"Well, where are you taking me?" Corvus questioned.

Soren blinked at him. "I didn't think that far ahead. I didn't think I'd get this far."

Corvus shook his head fondly. "You can just text me then."

"Okay," Soren said, rocking back on his heels. "Okay. Yeah. I can do that."

"Then I'll see you soon," Corvus replied, walking back into the cafeteria. The wink he sent while he strolled past didn't nearly give Soren a heart attack. Not at all. And he certainly didn't pump his fist into the air and do a happy little dance afterwards. Nope.

Little did they know, someone was listening.

***

Marcos didn't care that his two male best friends were going to be together. That wasn't what bothered him. He didn't care that they were both boys or that they were gay. He himself was gay, so it didn't bother him at all.

What bothered him was his two best friends were going to be together. The three of them had been buddies for a while; Marcos and Soren met at a fencing summer camp, and the two of them met Corvus early on during middle school. It had always been the three of them, their little trio, and if Corvus and Soren were together, who's to say he wouldn't be left behind?

He didn't want to be a third wheel. He didn't want to have to sit there while the two of them were all lovey-dovey in front of him and he was just... there. He didn't want to watch them go on happy little dates and leave him at his house. He didn't want them to forget about him.

He tried not to think about the pit of jealousy building in his stomach and what that could mean.

***

Hawkmoth strode towards the mirror. It had been dull for a while, but the blue glow that occasionally lit it up had returned, which meant someone out in the world was experiencing strong enough negative feelings for his akuma to prey on.

Not just any negative feelings could lead to akumatization. If any bad feelings could light up his mirror, he'd be standing there all day. He would also feel a bit rude to akumatize someone who experienced negative feelings all the time, like someone with anxiety or depression. Only people who had a pinpointable source of negativity could be akumatized.

He plucked one of the many cream worms from its position on the stone walls of his lair. He held it in his palm.

"A boy who was crushed by his friend's new relationship," he monologued, covering the worm with his other hand. "Well, crushes are called 'crushes' for a reason."

Dark energy flowed through his palm and into the worm, and when he removed his hand, the worm was colored purple instead of white. He placed it on the rim of the mirror and watched as it squirmed through the glass and out into the world.

"Crawl away my little akuma, and evilize him!"

Now, he waits.

***

Marcos had archery practice after school. He tried to focus on that and his work for the rest of the day instead of the jealously in his heart. It didn't really work, but nobody seemed to notice, and that's all that mattered. Soren and Corvus didn't take archery, so he would have a chance to clear his head away from the two.

He made his way down to his gym locker. He took lessons in the school since there was an archery club, and he kept his bow and arrow in the locker room. Obviously, the arrow tips were dull and made of rubber because the school would never allow real arrows to be used. He put in his combination, opened his locker, and grabbed his bow and arrows.

Something climbed onto his hand, but he didn't register it until it was too late.

"Reverse Cupid," Hawkmoth spoke, "I will give you the power to make anyone who you pierce with your arrows hate the next person they see, but in exchange, I need you to get Ladybug and Chat Noir's miraculous."

"Yes, Hawkmoth."

***

Rayla had been feeling pretty great when she left her locker at the end of the day. She had managed to finish her math homework in class, not completely flunk at language arts, and there was still the happiness from Callum potentially drawing her and Soren coming back to their table at lunch with a gleam in his eyes. 

So she figured it wouldn't be long before someone ruined it, and she would be right.

***

Soren and Corvus were chatting by a classroom. Soren was waiting for Claudia to finish speaking to a teacher, and Corvus decided to stick around to talk to Soren for a bit.

They were surprised when a person with a chest-plate that had a broken heart on it, a red mask that covered everything but their eyes, and a bow with a full quiver with arrows came around the corner, but who wouldn't be?

Marc-- Reverse Cupid halted when he saw the two of them. He had already shot a few people with his arrows to cause enough chaos to hopefully attract both Chat Noir and Ladybug, but those were all strangers, not people he knew. He wasn't expecting to run into Soren and Corvus; he had thought they already left.

As jealous of them as he was, he didn't want to hurt them. They were still his friends, the guys who practiced fencing with him and went to the school's basketball games with him and helped him study for the math SOL back in middle school so he didn't flunk it. In the end, they were still his friends, his best friends, and he couldn't make them hate each other. He couldn't.

But he knew who he could target. He hadn't been in that hallway on accident, he had overheard Soren talking to a certain someone, and now, she was going to pay.

***

Rayla dodged the first arrow that came her way. The second unfortunately hit someone else. That person's eyes became red, not with love, but with anger, and they shoved her aside and strode past. 

She bounded up the stairs two at a time. Reverse Cupid, as he called himself, was blocking the exit to the school, so the only place to go was up. Since he had a long-range weapon, there was no need to chase her, but apparently he could run and shoot at her with decent accuracy, which was a pain in the butt.

If she could make it into the fencing room, she could at least find a feasible weapon to defend herself with, but even better, if she could find an empty classroom or closet or something, she could fight him as a stronger opponent. She didn't have much time to think about it because Reverse Cupid sent a barrage of arrows her way, and she had to focus on avoiding being hit. At least the training her adoptive dad, Runaan, had her take when she was younger was paying off.

"You forced my friends together!" Reverse Cupid shouted. "You're the reason all of this is happening!"

"Uh, I didn't make Soren ask out Corvus," she replied, not turning around as she booked it up the flight of stairs. "All I did was give him a pretzel and some friendly encouragement."

She reached the second floor soon enough. Most of the rooms would be empty at that time of day, so she trusted her luck and chose a random one. The door tugged open, why it wasn't locked was beyond her, and she tumbled inside, Reverse Cupid hot on her heels. She slammed the door in his face and turned the lock just as he hit into it.

Finally given a chance to breathe, she exhaled and quickly examined her surroundings. It was an average classroom, with desks and chairs and a window. No one seemed to be around, so she turned towards the door and opened her vest up to the air for her kwami, Tikki, to fly out of.

Something hit the glass window with a loud thud, and she whirled around to a sight she was not expecting to see. A certain black cat was plastered against the glass, and he banged his fist into it. She stared at him for a moment, wondering if she should ignore him or open the window. Considering he wasn't leaving and she couldn't transform with him watching, she decided to humor him, and she pushed the window open, and Chat Noir tumbled inside the room.

"Thanks," he said, and she nodded at him. "Rayla, was it?"

"Yep, that's my name."

An arrow sliced through the wood of the door. She blatantly ignored it.

"I'm guessing the supervillain is right outside the door?"

"You guessed it. His name is Reverse Cupid apparently. It's dumb."

Chat Noir put a hand on his chin in contemplation. "Well, do you know what his power is?"

She leaned back against a desk. "I think his arrows make people hate each other. Like the next person they see."

"That makes sense," Chat Noir replied. "He is Reverse Cupid."

"What are you going to do about it? Shouldn't you go fight him or something?" She questioned, trying to get him to just leave so she could do her thing in peace and then join him in the fight.

"It would be nice if Ladybug would show up," he said, and she tried her best not to wince. It was like hearing someone else who was talking to someone with the same name as you and they said your name. She tried to act natural.

Chat Noir thought for a bit. He looked from the window to the arrow in the row to her. He stared at her for a moment, and she stared right back. "What?"

"Would you mind acting as bait?" Chat Noir asked. "If he's still outside the door, he's probably after you. Maybe you can help me lure him somewhere while we wait for Ladybug to come."

'If you want Ladybug to show up, that's the last thing you should do,' she thought. Instead, she said, "Sure, why not." Then she cursed herself out in her mind for agreeing.

Another arrow pierced through the door, creating a bigger rip in the wood. Chat Noir eyed it cautiously. "Let's lead him to the roof," he suggested. "That way, there's a more open space to fight him, and less people will be around."

She pointed to the window. "We should go out the window."

He raised an eyebrow at her. "Are you gonna scale the building by yourself?"

"You have that..." she trailed off and gestured to his baton. "Stick thing. Can't you take me? I'll open the door and drop out the window, you catch me and bring us up to the roof. I'm sure he'll find a way to follow."

"Sounds like a plan to me," Chat Noir said. He walked over to the window and stepped outside as she wandered over to the door. Adrenaline pumped through her veins, and she smiled. There was more danger as Rayla, and it was a new feeling that she kind of liked.

She unlocked the door and stepped away as it swung open. Not wasting any time, she dashed for the window and jumped out, trusting that Chat Noir would catch her. To a normal person, that would be a lot of faith to have in someone she only talked to for two minutes, but Chat Noir was still her partner, even when she wasn't his.

He grabbed her hand and extended his baton, and they shot up towards the roof. She somehow managed not to scream on the way up.

The ground felt steady under her feet. She walked away from the ledge and more towards the center of the roof, Chat Noir following behind her. She turned around to face him.

"I guess now all we do is wait--"

With a flick of his wrist and a call of "Cataclysm," Chat Noir pushed her aside with one hand and grabbed something behind her with the other. The object turned to dust in his fingertips. She didn't have to guess what it was, because on the other side of the roof was Reverse Cupid with his bow drawn.

"Go!" Chat Noir shouted, and she didn't need to be told twice. There was a ventilation unit box in the corner of the roof, and she slid behind it as Chat Noir readied his staff. 

Once she was out of sight, Tikki emerged from her vest pocket. Wasting no time, she quietly chanted, "Tikki, spots on!"

The rush of energy she felt whenever she transformed would never get old. She felt much more secure and capable as Ladybug, and she latched her yo-yo onto a nearby building and jumped off the one she was on. She swung around the nearby building and doubled back to the school so they wouldn't know where she came from. She crashed into Reverse Cupid, and he tumbled to the side. She landed near her partner, and Reverse Cupid stood up again.

"I'm going to fill this world with hatred!" Reverse Cupid shouted, drawing another arrow. "No one will ever be rejected again because there will be no love!"

"Sounds boring," Chat Noir said nonchalantly, admiring his nails. The ring on his finger beeped.

Acting surprised, she asked, "You used your Cataclysm already?"

"Yeah, I had to save someone," he responded. "Let's try to hurry this up, shall we?"

Reverse Cupid launched another arrow at them, and they jumped into the sky. Chat Noir landed close by and swung his baton, slicing through another arrow. She landed on the ledge. Putting her foot back and throwing her yo-yo into the air, she yelled, "Lucky Charm!"

A target with light red on the edges, maroon in the center, and black spots around it was dropped into her hands. "A target?" she found herself saying. "What to do with this."

Since her instinctual plan-making ability didn't point anything out, she assumed the target was supposed to be some kind of shield. She hoped arrows wouldn't pierce through it. Holding it in one hand on the edge, she charged at the supervillain.

He shot a couple arrows at her, but she blocked them with the target. Without a close-range weapon or arrows that could actually get to her, Reverse Cupid was defenseless as she hit his elbow, loosing his grip on his bow. Chat Noir swooped in and snatched it from his grasp and snapped it in two.

With no reason to continue holding onto the target, she dropped it onto the ground. Out of the broken bow crawled a little, purple worm. She spun her yo-yo in a circle and caught the worm in its clutches. "It's time to de-evilize!"

Once her yo-yo worked its magic, a cream colored worm emerged from it. She placed it onto the ground. "Bye bye, little akuma."

She picked the target back up and tossed it into the air, shouting, "Miraculous Ladybug!"

There wasn't much damage on the roof to repair, so her ladybugs went into the school to fix the people who were shot by the arrows. Chat Noir held out his fist, and she bumped it against her own. "Pound it!"

Chat Noir's ring beeped again, sounding more urgent, almost. "I should probably get going. Can you take care of him?"

"Yeah, I got him."

"Thanks," he said. He stopped and looked around in confusion. When he saw the ventilation system, he started jogging over to it. "Hey Rayla, are you okay?"

Crap. She had to think fast. She grabbed his arm and stopped him in place. "I got her away, don't worry."

"Are you sure?"

She smiled, not only because of how he was worriedly but because of how worried he was about her. Well, the other her. "Yep. I didn't want her to still be up here while we fought Reverse Cupid, so I brought her away."

Chat Noir breathed a sigh of relief. "Well, that's good." He turned to jump away, but stopped again. "Wait," he said, turning back around. "How did you know his name was Reverse Cupid? You weren't there when he said it, and I found out because Rayla told me."

Double crap. Her heart skipped a beat, and panic rose in her chest. She did her best to keep her voice level and playful as she answered vaguely, "I have my ways."

Chat Noir raised an eyebrow at her, but didn't pry. He shrugged. "Okay. I trust you, M'Lady." He bowed with a smile, and then turned and actually jumped away for real.

It was time for her miraculous to beep. She would have to be fast. She strode over to the victim, Marcos, who was sitting on the ground, seemingly contemplating. She knelt down in front of him and smiled kindly. "What's the matter?"

"My two best friends are getting together," Marcos explained. "I just don't want to be left behind."

She hummed. "Maybe you should try talking to them. It sounds like you're not angry about it, just sad. I would be upset too. But communication can solve a lot of problems."

Marcos nodded. "Yeah, thanks Ladybug."

She grinned again, and then stood up. Throwing her yo-yo, it wrapped around a pole, and she was pulled away.

***

Marcos waited until the next day to speak to Soren and Corvus. He had asked them the night before to meet him at school a little early so they could talk. He decided to sleep on it and hopefully gain a bit of confidence for the next day.

He walked up the steps and found Soren and Corvus waiting by the doors. They were about ten minutes early, so nobody else was there except for Claudia, but she was down in the yard sitting on a bench and too far away to hear. 

"What's up, Marcos?" Corvus asked. His concern made Marcos feel warm inside.

"I, uh, I just wanted to talk about your new," he gestured in front of him, "relationship."

"Ah," Corvus said. "What about it?"

"I just," Marcos paused, breathing in. He could do this. It was better to just come out and say it. "I just don't want you to leave me behind."

Corvus put his hand on Marcos' shoulder, sending a sort of shockwave through him. "We would never! None of this changes anything. We're still best bros." He held out a fist, and Marcos bumped his own against it.

"Well, there's kinda something I wanted to bring up too," Soren said, twiddling his thumbs. The other two turned towards him. Soren looked at Corvus. "Corvus, you know I like you. I have liked you for a while."

Something in his heart died a little at those words, but Marcos tried his best to ignore it.

Soren turned to Marcos. "But Marcos, I also like you."

Wait. What.

As shocked as he felt, a lot of things were coming together. They had always been a bit closer than he suspected other friend groups were. They tended to flirt with each other in everyday conversations like it was nothing, but it did hold a certain meaning to all of them. The warmth Marcos felt when Corvus touched his shoulder, the butterflies he felt when Soren tossed back his hair suddenly made a lot of sense.

"I think I like both of you too," Marcos said honestly.

"Same," Corvus replied. They were quiet for a bit as it sunk in, but Corvus broke it by laughing. "Well, what do we do now?"

Soren shrugged. "I mean, there's no rule saying we can't all date each other, and I have two hands."

Marcos went into class that day with a lot of weight lifted off his chest and two hands in his.

***

Rayla usually sat with Soren at lunch. It was their whole thing since they were friends. But she wanted to give him space since he got two new boyfriends, and she found herself wandering outside. A few other students were scattered around, most notably, Callum, sat under a tree with a lunchbox by his side and his sketchbook in his lap.

Rayla didn't recognize any of the other kids, and she really didn't feel like eating alone. She remembered Callum's unfinished drawing and how it could've been of her and how Soren worked up the nerve to talk to Corvus because she told him to just do it and he managed to score two boyfriends, so she took her own advice and marched over to Callum.

He didn't look up, but she didn't think he noticed her. He was too engrossed in his drawing, and she realized that he was coloring it. With the colors she gave him. Excitement rushed through her, and she plopped down next to him.

He jerked, a bit startled, but once he saw who it was, he relaxed. "Hi, Rayla."

"He- hello," she said. Gulping down whatever anxiety was building in her throat, she asked, "What are you... you drawing?"

"Oh," Callum exclaimed. He hesitated for a second before shrugging to himself and turning his book to her.

The sketch was finished, and he was coloring it in. The girl was standing with her arms out to her side and her hair blowing in the wind, and horns on her head and purple marks under her eyes. It wasn't of her, not exactly, but it was at the same time. He was coloring in the suit, which was red with black spots around it. Ladybug. He was drawing Ladybug.

While it did dampen her spirits a little bit, she supposed it didn't matter much. Ladybug was still technically her, and the drawing was still amazing, no matter who it was of. "Wow!" She complimented. "It looks amazing!"

"Thanks," Callum shyly replied, curling in on himself slightly and readjusting the book to fit in his lap. His eyes wandered over to the set of colors. "Oh! I never got to thank you for getting me these," he said, holding up the box. With a head tilt and wide grin, he said, "So thank you, Rayla."

Rayla was surprised she didn't have a stroke on the spot. She was surprised she managed to not even squeal. A bright smile broke out onto her face as well. "You're welcome! You're a great artist!"

Pink dusted his cheeks. "Thanks."

"No, seriously!" she insisted. "You can really capture peoples'," she trailed off, looking for the right word. "Essences."

Callum rubbed the back of his neck. "I think that's the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me." 

It was her turn for pink to rise to her cheeks. Trying to continue the conversation, she asked, "Do you ever draw Chat Noir too, or just Ladybug?"

"Um, for now, just Ladybug."

That started a conversation about the two superheroes of Xadia, who unknown to them, were sitting next to each other the whole time. They ate their lunches while they spoke, and Rayla helped him pack up his art supplies when the bell rung, signaling the end of lunch. Rayla supposed she was right. Communication solved a lot of problems and usually gave good results.

And later, when she laid in bed that same night, she realized not only did she manage to get a sentence out without stuttering, they had a whole conversation!

Soren returned to their lunch table the next day, along with Corvus and Marcos. Two new additions was amazing enough, and Rayla was extra surprised when Callum timidly asked if the seat next to her was taken. Maybe getting closer to him would be easier than she thought.