#runaway

☉ get you a man who’s willing to reject society and become a mysterious vagabond with you under the harsh desert sun ☉

Es curioso,

casi no recuerdo nada de lo que pasó,

pero sí lo que sentí.

Recuerdo lo que me hacía amarte,

pero no lo que me hizo odiarte.

Dejé de pensar en ese motivo,

y abandoné mis esfuerzos por olvidarte.

Runaway.

Yesterday I managed to kill the final boss of Darkest Dungeon 2 during the livestream and I’m still running on the adrenaline from that! So I sketched this little Runaway, that turned out to be the MVP of the whole journey

trying to work on a new chapter of Runaway (which will be between existing chapters, hopefully helping with the pacing) but I got distracted reading about what we know about season five

ghhhhhhhhhhh I want it

also the images won’t load on the wiki so I still have to bs how one might climb down the side of le grand paris without superpowers

I also started posting edited chapters on AO3

I know what comes next but I don’t know how to get there! Whooooo writing is hard

—

It was an unusual summons, to say the least. No ongoing attack, no urgency in Ladybug’s voice or movement. Just a sudden appearance, in the rare quiet moments between fencing practice and her mother arriving to fetch her.

Ladybug handed Kagami Longg’s choker in a small, unassuming wood box, like the kind one might buy at a craft store.

“A meeting, tomorrow night,” Ladybug said. “I’m sorry for the short notice, but it’s hard to find you alone with your schedule.”

“That’s alright, Ladybug,” Kagami said. She slipped the box into her bag, tucking it under her fencing clothes. “May I ask why you are giving me the Miraculous now?”

“It would be chaos if I tried to find everyone in one day. I’m… planning ahead, for once.”

Everyone. A large meeting of the Miraculous users, then. Extremely unusual.

“What is this meeting for?”

Ladybug shook her head, her pigtails bouncing as she did. “Longg will give you directions. Will you be able to get out of your house by 23:00 tomorrow night?”

“I can manage it,” Kagami said. 

“Good. I’m trusting you not to activate your powers before then unless you are under attack. Longg will stay hidden in your stuff if you choose to wear the choker early.”

“And I will return the Miraculous to you when we are finished.”

Ladybug smiled, giving her a quick salute and “Bug out!” as she disappeared.

Longg didn’t know much. 

“It’s not Ladybug’s meeting,” she said, as she pushed the button for Kagami’s electric toothbrush over and over again, marveling at it. “From what I understand, Chat Noir asked her to gather the heroes of her choosing. I think it’s the first time so many of us have been out at once in centuries.”

“It’s very strange,” said Kagami. She had worked with Chat Noir many times by now, but the nature of the heroes’ interactions meant most of them didn’t know each other all that well. It seemed to her out of character for Chat Noir to be so serious, and it was definitely unheard of for Ladybug to give out the Miraculous long term, even if it was just overnight. “Could he have been given some kind of warning? There are time manipulation powers within the Miraculous, correct?”

“That’s certainly possible,” said Longg. “But if Sass and Fluff have felt anything, they haven’t shared.”

It was strange, having company overnight. Longg was delighted to read manga over Kagami’s shoulder late into the night, and discussed it with her in the morning. She spent the day in Kagami’s pocket, and the weight was comforting, reassuring that if something went wrong, they could do something about it.

Nonetheless, the day was agonizingly slow. Many of the recent days had been, with one of her only friends in Paris missing, but the anticipation of the meeting had Kagami on edge. Could it be some sort of trap? Could there be a false Ladybug out, getting all the Miraculous in one place for Shadowmoth to steal at once? Or, maybe worse, a false Chat Noir, manipulating the real Ladybug to do the same?

At 23:00, Ryuko disappeared out Kagami’s window, following the directions Longg had told her.

It was fairly far, near the border of the city, an area she’d never been to before. She dropped down to the street, and was startled when someone touched her shoulder.

“Sorry!” the woman said, raising her hands. 

Ryuko squinted. She seemed familiar, though perhaps the darkness made the colors look off. 

“Rena Rouge?”

“Rena Furtive, at the moment,” Rena said with a wink. She spun around, showing off the changes to her costume, which was indeed a gradient of blues instead of the usual fox orange-red. “I let Ladybug know you’re here already. Come on, this way.”

Rena led her another couple of blocks, away from the buildings, then nudged a manhole cover up with her foot.

Ryuko wrinkled her nose.

“I know,” Rena said, apologetically. “But it’s private. It doesn’t smell too bad, I promise.”

They jumped down, boots splashing in the water, and Rena pointed down a tunnel. “Keep going that way. It gets a little claustrophobic for a sec, but then there’s a big intersection with a lot of room. That’s where we’re meeting. We’re still waiting on a couple of people.”

Rena climbed back up the ladder, sliding the cover back into place. Ryuko waited for her eyes to adjust to the darkness. Even aided by the magic Longg granted to her eyes, she had to resist the urge to light her way. The yellow emergency lights on the walls barely illuminated anything. 

One hand on the wall, she followed the directions. ‘A little claustrophobic’ apparently referred to a curved section with no light whatsoever, the ceiling low enough that she considered crawling.

But it opened onto familiar territory. 

There were quite a few of Ladybug’s team present. The area had scattered wooden and plastic boxes on the ground, serving as chairs in the unusual space. Pigella waved at her from where she was sitting with Vesperia and Pegasus. Viperion was in the corner, drumming absently on his seat, and Chat Noir lounged across two crates behind him, staring at the ceiling.

Ladybug herself was leaning against a wall, eyes on her communicator. She looked up as Ryuko entered.

“Have a seat,” she said. “We’re just waiting on a few more.”

Carapace arrived about ten minutes later, with King Monkey behind him. They came through a different passage than Ryuko had. Carapace immediately looked at Chat and Ladybug, nodding. “That’s it on my end.”

Another five minutes, and Purple Tigress came through Ryuko’s route with Rena Furtive, wiping the water from their knees while grimacing at each other. They must have staggered the timing of the invitations and had two separate entrances, to prevent any of them encountering each other as civilians. 

With Rena and Tigress present, Ladybug put her communicator away. What little conversation there had been stopped, and all eyes were on her.

“Alright,” Ladybug said, closing her eyes and shaking her hands as if they were cramped. “Everyone, let’s gather around the middle here. There’s no akuma attack right now, so none of you should be in danger of changing back soon. We have all night, if we need it.”

“What is all this about, Ladybug?” Vesperia asked, dragging her box behind her to sit closer. 

The others were largely doing the same, arranging in a messy semi-circle. Viperion lingered towards the back, but still in front of Chat Noir, who sat with his shoulders tense, silently watching them all. Ryuko did the same, on the other side. She would prefer to stand, really, but she settled on a crate, her back to one of the exits. Carapace sat next to Rena Furtive, both of them glancing occasionally at Chat Noir. To their right was Pegasus, then Pigella, who was leaning somewhat far into Purple Tigress’ space, who in turn looked conflicted whether to call her out on it. King Monkey finished off the other end, just to the side and front of Ryuko.

“It’s not really my place to say,” Ladybug said. She paced slightly across the ‘stage’, coming to a stop towards the center and looking at the gathered heroes. “I asked you all to come because you all have proven yourself time and time again as holders of the Miraculous. While there are a couple of us not here- all people who I would trust with my life- most of us here tonight have more experience, and a known history of responsibility with the Miraculous. If you think you’re an exception to this, that you don’t have the experience that some of us do, please know that you were specifically requested to be here, because of our belief in your abilities and trustworthiness.”

She took a breath, looking around at each one of them. Nobody spoke up, simply waiting for her to continue. 

“It goes without saying, but after tonight especially, please do not discuss anything talked about here tonight with anyone outside of this room. Sewer. This room in a sewer.”

Ryuko felt her face quirk into a slight smile. Speeches were never Ladybug’s favorite thing to do. 

“That said, I don’t really know why we’re meeting her tonight,” said Ladybug. She looked across at Chat Noir, still tense on his crate, ears flat against his head. “Chat Noir asked me to bring us all together. He left most of it to me, the day, time, and location; telling me to choose people I trust, though he did ask for some of you specifically. So, um, if you’re ready, Chat. I’ll turn it over to you.”

Ladybug walked to the end of the semi-circle, pulling up a box to sit on next to King Monkey and Ryuko. Chat stood from his own box, taking a deep breath and walking past Viperion to take Ladybug’s place.

Ladybug was intensely fidgeting with her fingers. Carapace looked suddenly upset, and Rena confused, and Ryuko wondered if Ladybug had told them about this beforehand. But oddly, Viperion had made a sharp inhale through his nose, his hand poised over his bracelet, as if ready to activate his power at any moment.

Chat Noir seemed to have also noticed.

“First of all,” he said, rocking back on his heels with his hands behind his back, “I’m not going to do something stupid like renounce my Miraculous or reveal my identity. So you can hold off on the Second Chance, snake-boy.”

There was a slight giggle among the group, but Chat’s directness was effective. Ladybug almost instantly relaxed, the tension draining from her body all at once, and Ryuko wondered what he might have done to scare her in the past to garner such a reaction. Viperion still had a furrowed brow, but he moved his hand from his wrist and sat back. Carapace looked relieved as Rena gently rubbed his hand.

“This meeting is really a kind of… update, on things that have been going on,” Chat continued. “There’s some stuff that everyone here should know, and I didn’t want to have to repeat it over and over. My lady was very kind in obliging me, gathering you all here together.”

He shuffled a little, straightening his back and looking at each of them. He seemed to linger slightly on Viperion, as if passing a silent message between them.

He shut his eyes, took a breath, and opened them again. “First bit of news: I know where Adrien Agreste is.”

There was an immediate reaction. Someone, maybe many people, shouted, Ryuko unsure if she was among them. She was on her feet without remembering that she’d stood. Ladybug was also up, her legs shaking slightly, eyes wide, as shocked as the rest of them. 

The exclamations and muttering slowly died down, Chat Noir calmly waiting in the middle of it. He’d unhooked his staff at some point, and was idly twirling it behind his back.

“Chaton,” Ladybug said, and the others quieted, returning to their seats and watching her. “Chaton, since when? How?”

Chat smiled. “I’m getting to that.” He looked at the group again. “I’m going to start by saying that he’s safe and unharmed. He’s staying with people I trust. I am not telling you where or who with, by his request. All of this is to stay between us.”

Some of them fidgeted. Vesperia’s hands were over her mouth, her elbows on her knees, staring forward with a conflicted look. Purple Tigress was fiddling with her hair, pensive. Carapace looked about ready to punch someone, probably Chat.

“Adrien asked me to help him disappear,” Chat continued. “He felt that he was in danger, staying at home, and that telling anyone could put them in danger as well. I, of course, obliged, and over the course of the week, got him to safety. He’s moved around a bit, to avoid recognition and stuff, but he’s fine, and in a safe location, thanks to yours truly.”

“You knew this whole time?” Carapace said. “And you didn’t tell anyone? Not even Ladybug?”

Chat Noir’s ears drooped slightly. He looked apologetically between both Ladybug and Carapace. “I didn’t tell anybody until Adrien was ready,” he said. “I’m sorry for not saying anything, but…”

“No, you did the right thing, Chat.” Ladybug sat down on her box, her hands clasped together. “You said that he thought he was in danger.”

“Yeah,” Chat Noir said. He scratched the back of his head before twirling his staff, steeling himself, and bringing everyone’s attention back to him. “That brings us to the second, and honestly a bit more relevant bit of news.”

He planted the end of his staff on the ground, looking far more serious than Ryuko had ever seen him outside of battle.

“Adrien needed to leave his home for his own safety, because he discovered that his father is Shadowmoth.”

This time, his announcement was met with utter silence. 

Ryuko’s mind was racing. She knew Adrien had been having difficulty with his father since his mother died, and Chat’s first announcement had thrown images of terrible neglect and bursts of anger at Adrien’s expense, like a twisted, intense version of her own issues with her mother, but the second announcement drew a blank. 

“That’s impossible,” Ladybug said. “We suspected him before and ruled him out. He- he’s been akumatized before!”

“How did Adrien find out?” Viperion’s voice was soft but overflowing with anger.

Chat glanced at him, then turned his attention back to the group as a whole. 

“Recently, there was a large runway event that Adrien attended with his father, a big public spectacle. An akuma, made of one of the designers whose pieces had been rejected, appeared and terrorized the show. It was defeated, of course, with the help of myself, Ladybug, and the lovely Miss Ryuko.”

He nodded at her, and she nodded back. The attack had been unexpected, and Kagami had been astonished to see Chat Noir arrive so quickly, Ladybug not far behind. Kagami was with Adrien in the audience, the two of them seated in commiseration between her mother and his father’s assistant, Chloe pouting a few seats over and leaning over to try and steal Adrien’s attention with snide comments about the models. She’d lost track of all of them in the attack, though she remembered Adrien helping Nathalie limp to shelter as they scattered. Kagami had been preoccupied looking for Ladybug, excited for the potential to use her powers again.

They had reconvened briefly after the akuma was defeated, but Kagami was dragged off by her mother, Adrien forced to stay as his father and the other fashion moguls tried to bring order to and continue the show. 

“It was after the attack was over,” Chat Noir continued, his voice oddly subdued. “Ladybug had fixed everything, and the three of us were long gone. Adrien went to the dressing room after his father, only to see him disappear into nothing as Shadowmoth snapped his fingers. The Gabriel Agreste on stage, announcing the designs, was a sentimonster copy. Shadowmoth detransformed.”

The silence was heavy. 

Chat was staring at the ground by the time he finished, looking exhausted and angry. Ryuko felt much the same. He had been right there, under their noses as they struggled with his akuma. If they had stuck around, or come back after recharging, maybe they could have been with Adrien, maybe they would have seen Shadowmoth themselves, been able to bring him down for good.

“Why did you sit on this, Chat Noir?”

It was Rena Furtive who spoke up, tapping her chin thoughtfully. “Adrien’s been missing for two weeks now, and you said you started helping him a week before that. Keeping a victim safe at his request is one thing, but if you had information about Shadowmoth, you should have told Ladybug right away.”

Chat looked away. “I don’t think Adrien was ready to tell anyone until today,” he said. “I think… he knew he had to get away, but he needed time to process.”

The room fell quiet again. 

“I don’t blame him,” Purple Tigress muttered. “If I found out a family member was a supervillain…” She shook her head. “We’re lucky he wasn’t akumatized himself.”

Chat Noir looked horrified, as if the idea hadn’t occurred to him. “He- to his own son?”

“I wouldn’t put it past him,” Carapace said with a scowl. “We should’ve got Adrien out of there way sooner, even without knowing about Shadowmoth.”

“But we’re gonna bring him down now!” King Monkey spoke up for the first time that night, punching his fist into his palm. “We got him cornered! And he doesn’t even know it!”

“We need a plan first,” Pegasus said, leaning forward to smile over at him. “But I’m ready to take him down once we have one.”

Ladybug stood, her box scratching against the cement floor. The group looked up at her, chatter dying down.

“Pegasus is right. We need a plan. We know how cunning Shadowmoth can be, so we should move with caution. But we’ll strike while the iron’s hot. Ambush him while he’s still distracted with his son’s disappearance.” She looked around at the gathered heroes. They looked back, filled with adrenaline, eyes gleaming with excitement. 

Chat Noir looked at her, leaning on his staff, wary.

Ladybug smiled. “However, it’s also nearly one thirty, and most if not all of us have things to do in the morning. And we’re in a sewer, in the middle of nowhere.”

She was right, and they all knew it. Ryuko was, admittedly, looking forward to a hot shower. And who knows how long it would take her to get home.

“Hold on to your Miraculous,” Ladybug continued, reading her thoughts. “I’m not going to make everyone figure out how to get home without superpowers in the middle of the night. The same rules apply tonight as before. I’ll contact each of you later with more information and to collect your Miraculous.”

They climbed out of the sewer in a group, after Rena Furtive took a quick recon trip ahead to make sure the coast was clear. They left in staggered pairs, organized in some unknown pattern by Ladybug, to ensure secrecy. 

“And make sure to feed your kwami!” Ladybug shouted after the first pair started off. “Or they’ll take whatever they want without asking!”

Pegasus and King Monkey waved back in confirmation. 

Viperion hugged Chat Noir hard, startling him, before leaving with Pigella.

Carapace and Rena Furtive left together, unhurried, after a quick talk with Ladybug. 

Vesperia went with Purple Tigress, Ryuko supposed to follow just behind, since there was an odd number total. 

She lingered briefly, pretending to look at her communicator for directions.

“Thank you for doing this, Chat Noir,” Ladybug said quietly. The two of them had retired to a rooftop, their legs dangling over the side. “I’m sorry you were doing it by yourself for so long.”

“I had a bit of help, Bugaboo.”

“I mean it, Chat. Thank you for helping Adrien. I can’t begin to imagine what this has been like for him.”

Chat didn’t answer.

“I still can’t believe it,” Ladybug went on. “Can you believe… I just spoke to the bastard the other day. He seemed… so sad and lonely, so worried. He complimented me on saving the city!” She kicked the side of the building in anger. “I can’t believe I believed him.”

“Even awful people aren’t all bad,” Chat said quietly. “Maybe he really is worried about his son.”

“Maybe,” said Ladybug, the scowl audible in her voice. “We can only hope, I suppose.”

Ryuko left them, hopping from rooftop to rooftop until the surroundings became familiar, riding the rest of the way as a gust of wind, and slipped in through her bedroom window. 

I never really liked my hometown

but after you

I hated it

I want to run away and never come back

Aurora